Archive · 11 Aug 2026
SEBI curbs retail F&O losses by 18 percent in FY26
Many grown-ups in India like to make bets on what the stock market will do, using something called futures and options.
This is a complicated game, and most people who play it lose money.
The government has a special group called SEBI that watches over the stock market to keep people safe.
In 2024, SEBI made some new rules for this game to protect the players.
Because of the new rules, fewer people are playing the game now.
The total amount of money lost by all the players went down from a huge number to a slightly smaller huge number.
But the people who still play are each losing a little more money on average.
The government also collects a small tax on every trade, and that tax money went up.
A government official named Pankaj Chaudhary shared these numbers with the country's leaders in the Rajya Sabha.
Aggregate retail investor losses in India's equity derivatives segment fell 18% year-on-year to Rs 91,685 crore in FY26 from Rs 1,11,788 crore in FY25.
The number of unique individual investors in the F&O segment declined about 20% to 78.6 lakh in FY26 from 98.1 lakh in FY25.
Despite lower aggregate losses, the average loss per investor rose to Rs 1,16,654 from Rs 1,13,913 a year earlier.
Overall equity derivatives turnover moderated to Rs 202 lakh crore in FY26 from Rs 213 lakh crore in FY25.
Securities transaction tax collections from F&O trades rose to Rs 27,695 crore in FY26 (Rs 19,802 crore from options and Rs 7,893 crore from futures), up from Rs 22,225 crore in FY25 according to one article, while another cited the earlier figure as Rs 7,893 crore.
SEBI's measures since November 2024 included rationalising index derivative products, higher contract sizes, upfront collection of option premiums and intraday monitoring of position limits.
- Who
- India's market regulator SEBI, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary, and individual (retail) investors in the futures and options segment.
- What
- SEBI's regulatory measures reduced aggregate retail investor losses in equity derivatives by 18% to Rs 91,685 crore and cut unique investor participation by about 20% in FY26.
- When
- Fiscal year 2025-26 (FY26), with the data disclosed in the Rajya Sabha by the minister on Tuesday.
- Where
- India; the data was shared in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha in New Delhi.
- Why
- SEBI introduced regulatory and surveillance measures from November 2024 to ensure market stability and protect the interests of stock market investors.
- Aggregate retail F&O losses FY26
- Rs 91,685 crore
- Aggregate retail F&O losses FY25
- Rs 1,11,788 crore
- Unique individual F&O investors FY26
- 7.86 million (78.6 lakh)
- Unique individual F&O investors FY25
- 9.81 million (98.1 lakh)
- Average loss per investor
- Rs 1,16,654 (up from Rs 1,13,913)
- Equity derivatives turnover FY26
- Rs 202 lakh crore
- Equity derivatives turnover FY25
- Rs 213 lakh crore
- STT collection from F&O FY26
- Rs 27,695 crore (options: Rs 19,802 crore; futures: Rs 7,893 crore)
