NSE Chief warns of AI cyber threats, flags quantum risk as Indian markets hit ₹460 lakh crore

Ashish Kumar Chauhan, Managing Director and CEO, National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) | Photo Credit: DHIRAJ SINGH

India's National Stock Exchange (NSE) on Saturday flagged an urgent need for brokers to strengthen cybersecurity defences against AI-based attacks, even as the country's listed market capitalisation crossed ₹460 lakh crore, larger than the combined credit and balance sheet of the entire Indian banking system.

Addressing the Association of NSE Members of India's (ANMI) 16th Annual Capital Market Convention in Mumbai, NSE Managing Director and CEO Ashish Kumar Chauhan said financial institutions in Japan and the United States had recently come under AI-driven cyber attacks. Japan declared a national emergency over cyber hacking two weeks ago, while American banks reported AI-based agentic attacks on their infrastructure last week.

Task force for cyber resilience

Chauhan urged ANMI to establish a dedicated task force to help member brokers build cyber resilience. He also warned of emerging threats from quantum computing that could compromise current cryptographic frameworks, including SSL protocols. "Technology is like riding a tiger, it's comfortable while you ride, but when you get down, it eats you up," he said.

On market scale, Chauhan said NSE's reach now extends across more than 99 per cent of India's PIN codes, with over 37 crore registered investor accounts and 13.6 crore unique individual investors. Individual investors, through direct holdings and mutual funds, now hold 19.3 per cent of NSE-listed market capitalisation, growing from ₹7.9 lakh crore in March 2014 to ₹90.3 lakh crore as of June 2026, an annualised growth rate of 31 per cent since April 2020. Maharashtra leads all states with over two crore unique registered investors.

India's listed market capitalisation has grown at a 17 per cent CAGR over three decades, from ₹4 lakh crore in 1994. Chauhan noted India still stands at approximately $3,000 per capita income and must reach $25,000–$30,000 to achieve developed-nation status under the Viksit Bharat 2047 target.

Product expansion

On product expansion, NSE has moved beyond equities into equity derivatives, currency, commodities, electricity derivatives, and Electronic Gold Receipts, which began trading in May 2026. Corporate Bond Index Futures, announced in the Union Budget, has received basic regulatory approval.

Chauhan also commended SEBI Chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey for regulatory reforms, including narrowing the technical glitch framework, relieving roughly 60 per cent of trading members from its scope, extending reporting windows from one hour to two, and consolidating reporting onto a single platform.

In FY26, NSE conducted over 17,800 investor awareness programmes, reaching 9.3 lakh participants. The Investor Protection Fund corpus stands above ₹3,000 crore, while the Core Settlement Guarantee Fund stands at ₹13,500 crore as of September 2026.

Published on October 24, 2026