NSE, BSE to Expand Co-Location Infrastructure Amid High Demand

India’s 2 leading stock exchanges, the National Stock Exchange (NSE) and the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), are expanding their co-location facilities as more brokers seek faster access to trading systems.

NSE to Add More Racks in Phases

NSE currently operates with around 1,300 full racks. It plans to add 300 more by the end of June 2025, followed by an additional 2,000 racks over the next 2 years. The expansion comes in response to a growing queue of brokers waiting for rack space. To create room, NSE has shifted staff to a different building in Mumbai’s Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC). The Exchange Plaza office is being converted into a data centre to house the additional racks.

Setting up all 2,000 new racks is estimated to cost between ₹520 crore and ₹550 crore. This investment will be spread over a phased timeline and depreciated over the racks’ lifecycle.

BSE Targets More Racks

BSE, which currently has 300 co-location racks, plans to add 200 more in the next 3-4 months. The exchange has reclaimed a portion of its historic Rotunda Hall and taken back leased ground-floor space to make room. BSE’s total planned capacity is 500 racks, with a mix of 15 kVA and 6 kVA power options. According to news reports, this would offer an effective capacity equivalent to around 650 standard racks.

BSE is also considering acquiring more space for further expansion, as demand continues to rise.

Rack Pricing Structures

Co-location rack pricing differs between the exchanges. BSE charges ₹3 lakh annually for a quarter rack, ₹6 lakh for a half rack, ₹12 lakh for a 6 kVA full rack, and ₹25 lakh for a 15 kVA rack.

NSE revised its charges effective April 2025. A full rack now costs ₹9 lakh per year, down from ₹12 lakh earlier. Half and quarter racks cost ₹4.5 lakh and a quarter rack for ₹2.25 lakh, respectively.

Read more: NSE IPO Buzz: Unlisted Shares in High Demand as Listing Nears!

Conclusion

The demand for co-location continues to increase, prompting both NSE and BSE to scale up infrastructure. A regulatory decision on allowing commodity exchanges to offer similar services is still pending.

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