Mumbai, February 26 NSE's Managing Director and CEO, Ashishkumar Chauhan, on Thursday, advocated for "minimum qualifying criteria" for those participating in derivatives trading, to prevent people from lower socio-economic strata from losing money on speculation.
In light of the findings of the capital markets regulator, Sebi, that over 90 per cent of traders lose money in derivatives trading, the head of the stock exchange, which is set to list its IPO, said that no developing country can allow "people from lower socio-economic strata to waste their money, energy, and resources on speculation."
Speaking at an event here, Chauhan proposed "minimum qualifying criteria" for participating in derivatives, in line with similar regulations in Singapore, the US, and other countries, "so that people from lower socio-economic strata do not participate in the Indian derivatives market and lose money."
Both the government and regulatory bodies have taken numerous measures to curb retail participation in the forward and options segments, aiming to channel more money into the cash segment.
In the 2026-27 Budget, the government raised the securities transaction tax in an attempt to discourage speculative trading.
The policy and regulatory measures have impacted trading volumes in the market. Stock brokers and bourses derive a significant portion of their revenues from executing trades.
Chauhan said that derivatives markets are important for capital formation in a country like India, and their importance will only increase in the subsequent years, as risk management and transfer become increasingly important.
"At the same time, a developing country like India cannot allow excessive speculation by lower socio-economic strata. Therefore, more and more regulations will come from governments, regulators, and exchanges to curb excessive speculation until the perception of excessive speculation among the lower socio-economic strata continues," he stressed.