A Ministry of Finance report shows a sharp drop in retail participation in India's futures and options (F&O) market in FY26. The number of individual traders fell by nearly 20 lakh from the previous year, and while their overall losses also declined, the average loss per trader rose to a five-year high.
F&O Traders Fall To 78.6 Lakh
The number of individual traders in the F&O segment declined to 78.6 lakh in FY26 from 98.1 lakh in FY25, according to data presented by the government in the Rajya Sabha. The analysis was carried out by SEBI using data from the top 15 brokerage houses, covering approximately 90% of individual investors in the equity derivatives segment.
At the same time, individual traders' net losses fell to Rs 91,685 crore in FY26 from Rs 1.12 lakh crore in FY25. This was the first decline after losses had risen every year since FY22, climbing from Rs 40,824 crore in FY22 to Rs 65,747 crore in FY23, Rs 74,812 crore in FY24 and Rs 1,11,788 crore in FY25.
Also Read: RBI Sees A Stronger India As Iran War Fails To Derail Consumer Demand
Average Loss Crosses Rs 1.16 Lakh
Despite reducing the number of traders and lower aggregate losses, the average loss per person increased to Rs 1,16,654 in FY26 from Rs 1,13,913 in FY25.
The figure was also substantially higher than the Rs 86,728 average loss recorded in FY24. Over the past five fiscal years, the individual losses grew from Rs 95,517 in FY22 to Rs 1,16,654 in FY26.
SEBI Tightens F&O Rules
The government imputed this decline in retail participation and net losses to the regulatory and surveillance measures introduced by SEBI. From November 2024, the measures included rationalisation of weekly index derivative products, increased tail-risk coverage on expiry days, higher contract sizes for index derivatives and upfront collection of option premiums.
SEBI also introduced measures to streamline expiry days across exchanges and strengthen monitoring through risk metrics for position limits in May 2025.
The government also said that SEBI has not examined the impact of algorithmic and high-frequency trading on market fairness and retail investors. Meanwhile, Securities Transaction Tax collected from the F&O segment increased to Rs 27,695 crore in FY26 from Rs 22,225 crore in FY25.
Also Read: Promoting Food Online? FSSAI Warns Influencers Over Unverified Claims
Essential Business Intelligence, Sharp Market Insights, Practical Personal Finance Advice, Daily Fuel, Gold and Silver Prices and Latest Stories — On NDTV Profit.
