NSE has issued detailed modalities for the Equity Derivatives segment under the SEBI-mandated Business Continuity framework (SEBI/HO/MRD/TPD/P/CIR/2024/167 dated November 28, 2024). When BSE experiences an outage during trading hours, NSE will act as an alternative trading venue, enabling BSE-exclusive derivative contracts to be traded at NSE. This circular specifies the technical and operational requirements members must be aware of.

Key Points

• NSE will serve as an alternative trading venue for BSE during outages, and vice versa, per SEBI directive
• BSE-exclusive contracts at NSE will have a $ suffix in the contract symbol (e.g., SYMBOLABC$)
• A new Admission type value of 2 (BSE listed) will be introduced in contract master files (contract.gz field 13, NSE_FO_contract_ddmmyyyy.csv.gz field 30)
• Orders in BSE-exclusive contracts will be rejected with error code 16387 on normal trading days when alternative venue is not invoked
• Upon invocation, BSE-exclusive contracts are enabled and a broadcast message is sent to all trading terminals
• Spread contracts and LPP (Liquidity Provider Program) are not applicable for BSE-exclusive contracts
• Pre-open session will be conducted contingent on receiving invocation communication from BSE before market hours

Regulatory Changes

• Implements SEBI circular SEBI/HO/MRD/TPD/P/CIR/2024/167 (November 28, 2024) requiring exchanges to establish alternative trading venue mechanisms
• Extends existing NSE circular NSE/MSD/67344 (March 28, 2025) with Equity Derivatives-specific modalities
• Introduces new contract master field value (Admission type = 2) to distinguish BSE-listed contracts hosted at NSE
• New contract files to be published on Exchange website from April 13, 2026 for market participants to identify BSE-exclusive contracts

Compliance Requirements

• Members must update their systems to handle the $-suffixed BSE-exclusive contract symbols
• Trading systems must correctly handle error code 16387 rejections for BSE-exclusive contracts on non-invocation days
• Members should consume updated contract master files (contract.gz, NSE_FO_contract_ddmmyyyy.csv.gz) that include the new Admission type field value
• Members should be prepared for pre-open sessions that may be triggered on short notice upon BSE invocation
• From April 13, 2026, members should use new contract files available on the Exchange website and extranet paths for identifying and locating BSE-exclusive contracts

Important Dates

• April 06, 2026: Circular issued; modalities effective
• April 13, 2026: New contract files to be made available on Exchange website and extranet for identifying BSE-exclusive contracts

Impact Assessment

This circular has high operational impact for members trading in the Equity Derivatives (F&O) segment. Members and their technology teams need to update order management and risk systems to:

1. Recognize and handle the new $-suffixed contract symbols
2. Process the updated contract master field for BSE-listed contracts
3. Handle dynamic enablement/disablement of BSE-exclusive contracts based on invocation status
4. Accommodate potential pre-open sessions triggered by BSE outages

The framework enhances market resilience by ensuring continuity of trading for BSE-listed derivatives even during exchange-level outages, reducing systemic risk in the Indian equity derivatives market.