Government Cannot Stop Retail Investors from F&O Trading, Says Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman

Mumbai, Nov 6: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman ne Thursday ko kaha ki sarkar retail investors ko Futures & Options (F&O) trading se rok nahi sakti, lekin zarur logon ko iske risk aur awareness ke baare mein educate karegi.

Yeh bayan kuch din baad aaya hai jab SEBI chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey ne bhi kaha tha ki Nifty aur Sensex ke weekly derivatives contracts ko bandh karne ka koi plan nahi hai.

SBI Banking and Economics Conclave 2025 ke dauraan, Sitharaman ne kaha, “Sarkar F&O trading par ban nahi lagayegi, par logon ko yeh samjhana zaruri hai ki derivatives trading mein bade losses ka risk hota hai.” Unhone yeh bhi kaha ki investors ki zimmedari hai ki wo khud bhi market ke risks ko samjhein.

Finance Minister ne experts se suggestions bhi maange hain ki kis tarah se retail traders ko F&O ke risks ke baare mein better awareness di ja sakti hai.

Ek recent SEBI study ke mutabiq, FY25 mein lagbhag 91% individual traders ne F&O segment mein paisa khoya — total losses ₹1 lakh crore se zyada hue. Yeh paisa agar responsible investing ya capital formation mein lagta, toh economy ke liye faydemand hota.

Pichle saal November mein SEBI ne derivatives trading mein speculation kam karne ke liye kuch new rules introduce kiye the.

F&O instruments — yaani Futures aur Options contracts — trading ke advanced tools hote hain. Futures mein buyer aur seller dono ek fixed price par future date par deal karte hain, jabki Options investor ko right dete hain (obligation nahi) kisi asset ko ek specific price par kharidne ya bechne ka.

Yeh tools hedging, speculation aur arbitrage ke liye use kiye jaate hain, lekin inme leverage risk aur market volatility ke wajah se bade losses bhi ho sakte hain.