Regulatory measures introduced by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) helped reduce the aggregate net losses of retail investors in the equity derivatives segment to ₹91,685 crore in FY26, down from ₹1.12 trillion in the previous financial year, Parliament was informed on Tuesday.
The government said SEBI has introduced several measures since November 2024 to strengthen the futures and options (F&O) market and address risks faced by retail investors.
These measures have contributed to a decline in the number of retail participants, their overall losses and trading volumes in the equity derivatives segment.
Key steps include rationalising weekly index derivatives products, increasing tail-risk coverage on options expiry days and raising the contract size for index derivatives. SEBI has also rationalised monthly index derivative products and introduced upfront collection of option premiums from buyers.
Other measures include removing the calendar spread treatment on expiry days and introducing intraday monitoring of position limits.
The regulatory changes are aimed at improving risk management and strengthening the overall resilience of the equity derivatives market.
The decline in retail investor losses comes as SEBI continues to tighten oversight of the rapidly expanding F&O segment, where high trading volumes and leveraged positions can expose individual investors to significant financial risks.