New Delhi, August 11: Individuals trading in the equity Futures and Options (F&O) segment lost Rs 91,685 crore in the financial year ended March 2026, according to data shared by the Ministry of Finance in the Rajya Sabha.

In reply to a written question, the Finance Ministry said the losses were recorded among individual/retail participants in the equity derivatives segment, based on an analysis conducted by market regulator SEBI. The data showed that 78.6 lakh individual traders participated in F&O trading in FY26, with the average loss per person standing at Rs 1,16,654.

The ministry, in its reply to a Rajya Sabha question on retail investor protection in F&O trading, said SEBI had analysed "individual/retail participation in the F&O segment and their profitability outcome during the last five financial years."

As per the SEBI analysis submitted by the government, individual traders recorded a net loss of Rs 91,685 crore in FY26, compared with a loss of Rs 1,11,788 crore in FY25. The number of traders also declined from 98.1 lakh in FY25 to 78.6 lakh in FY26.

The ministry said the data was based on information collected from the top 15 brokers in the equity derivatives market, with the sample representing around 90 per cent of all individual investors in the segment.

Highlighting the impact of regulatory measures, the government said, "Following the regulatory measures, SEBI has observed a year-on-year decline in the number of unique individual investors from 98.10 lakhs to 78.60 lakhs and net losses of the individuals from Rs. 1,11,788 crores to Rs. 91,685 crores in the equity derivatives segment in 2025-26."

The ministry also noted that SEBI has introduced several measures to strengthen the F&O segment, including risk disclosures, rationalisation of derivative products, increased risk coverage and monitoring of position limits.

SEBI's risk disclosure mechanism requires brokers to inform individual traders that "nine out of 10 Individual traders made losses in F&O in FY22" when they log into trading platforms. (ANI)