MUMBAI — Regulatory measures introduced by markets regulator Sebi to curb excessive speculation in the futures & options (F&O) segment reduced aggregate losses of retail investors to Rs 91,685 crore in fiscal 2025-26, from about Rs 1.1 lakh crore in the previous year, Parliament was informed on Tuesday. However, the average loss per individual investor rose marginally to Rs 1.2 lakh from Rs 1.1 lakh, according to a written reply by Pankaj Chaudhary, junior minister for finance, in Rajya Sabha.
Key metrics: FY25 vs FY26
The reply disclosed a sharp fall in both participation and volumes in the equity derivatives segment, alongside lower aggregate losses. The table below compares the key figures:
| Metric | FY25 | FY26 |
|---|---|---|
| Aggregate retail losses in equity F&O | About Rs 1.1 lakh crore | Rs 91,685 crore |
| Average per-investor loss | Rs 1.1 lakh | Rs 1.2 lakh |
| Unique individual investors | 98.1 lakh | 78.6 lakh |
| Trading volumes assigned to retail investors | Rs 213 lakh crore | Rs 202 lakh crore |
The number of retail traders in the equity F&O segment fell to 78.6 lakh in FY26 from 98.1 lakh in FY25, and trading volumes attributed to retail investors dropped to Rs 202 lakh crore from Rs 213 lakh crore, the minister's written reply showed.
Sebi's regulatory measures since November 2024
Starting November 2024, Sebi made several changes to the trading rules for F&O, including increasing margins and contract sizes. The measures listed in the ministerial reply include:
- Rationalisation of weekly index derivatives products
- Increase in tail risk coverage on the day of options expiry
- Higher contract size for index derivatives
- Rationalisation of monthly index derivative products
Chaudhary said: "Following the regulatory measures, Sebi has observed a year-on-year decline in the number of unique individual investors from 98.1 lakh to 78.6 lakh and net losses of the individuals from Rs 1,11,788 crore to Rs 91,685 crore in the equity derivatives segment in 2025-26, compared to the previous year."
The data indicates that even with fewer retail investors active in F&O, those who remained lost more on average — per-investor losses climbed to Rs 1.2 lakh from Rs 1.1 lakh year-on-year. The aggregate loss reduction of about Rs 20,300 crore reflects the combined effect of reduced participation, lower volumes, and the regulatory tightening that began in November 2024.
These figures were disclosed in a detailed reply to Rajya Sabha on Tuesday, highlighting the impact of the market regulator's policy push to cool retail derivatives activity. The measures, which took effect over the course of FY26, targeted product design, margin requirements, and risk coverage, and were associated with a 19.8% fall in the number of unique retail F&O traders during the year, according to the government data.
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