Indian exchanges need collaboration, global integration and stronger risk guardrails, say top execs

The latest market report highlights that India’s market infrastructure is entering a new phase of expansion, with exchange leaders calling for greater collaboration, stronger risk management and deeper global integration as investor participation and trading volumes climb.

The comments came during a panel discussion at the Global Fintech Fest 2026 on the future of exchanges, moderated by SEBI’s K V R Murty and featuring NSE MD and CEO Ashishkumar Chauhan, MCX MD and CEO Praveena Rai, Metropolitan Stock Exchange of India MD and CEO Latika S Kundu and BSE MD and CEO Sundararaman Ramamurthy.

Rai stated India has a significant opportunity to become a stronger global price-discovery centre, particularly in commodities. As one of the world’s largest producers and consumers of several commodities, India needs to develop stronger domestic benchmarks and deepen participation, she stated.

“Commodity markets tend to be more naturally inclined to global integration,” Rai stated, adding that exchanges should focus not only on bringing products to Indian market participants but additionally on taking Indian market products and services to a wider global audience.

She additionally highlighted the need for more sophisticated products if India is to attract greater global participation. The objective, she stated, should be to build markets that can serve both domestic market participants and international pools of capital.

Kundu, in the meantime, stressed the importance of collaboration between market infrastructure institutions. She stated exchanges need to establish a common objective and work towards an “ecosystem mandate” rather than remaining focused only on their individual institutional mandates.

Competitive pressure between exchanges would keep be important, she stated, but seamless integration and collaboration across the ecosystem would ultimately benefit the broader market.

Kundu additionally argued that the future of exchanges would be defined by their ability to stay flexible and customer-centric as capital becomes increasingly global. Exchanges are no longer competing only within their own countries, she stated, as market participants can increasingly direct capital to markets across jurisdictions.

On investor participation, Kundu stated the next phase of market development should focus on making investing more accessible while improving investor understanding. Technology and AI could help simplify complex disclosures and tailor information to individual market participants, potentially making risk factors easier for retail market participants to understand.

Ramamurthy highlighted risk management as a key prerequisite for product innovation. New products and asset classes should not be introduced without first evaluating the risks they bring to the market, he stated.

“Risk management” needs to stay one of the central areas of focus for exchanges, Ramamurthy stated, with appropriate guardrails put in place before new products are rolled out.

He additionally pointed to the challenge of maintaining scalability, performance and resilience simultaneously as trading volumes grow. Technology infrastructure cannot simply be scaled up by adding capacity, he stated, because exchanges have to make design choices that balance all three requirements.

Chauhan additionally flagged data and software engineering as strategic concerns for exchanges, arguing that technological dependence and the ability to control critical infrastructure would become increasingly important as financial markets become more digitally dependent.

The panel additionally emphasised the importance of investor education. Kundu stated the growing focus on investor awareness, attitudes and trust could help create a more informed investor base that is better equipped to stay invested through market cycles.

For Rai, the next decade will as a result require exchanges to think beyond simply processing larger volumes. India’s exchanges will need to build infrastructure that is globally integrated, technologically resilient and capable of supporting a broader range of products and market participants.