According to an analysis of individual traders’ profits and losses in the Equity Derivatives Segment (EDS), the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) said Monday that, on average, nearly 91% of individual traders experienced net losses in the EDS in FY 2025 (a similar trend was noted in FY 2024).

Index options turnover is down 9% (in premium terms) and 29% (in notional terms) year over year, according to a comparison of the growth in trading in the Equity Derivatives Segment (EDS) with the Cash Market following recent measures.

The SEBI study stated that the volume of index options is up 14% (in premium terms) and 42% (in notional terms) compared to two years ago. It also stated that the turnover of individuals in EDS in premium terms is down 11% year over year and up 36% over the same period two years ago.

The regulator reports that the number of distinct individual investors dealing in EDS has increased by 24% from two years ago and decreased by 20% from the preceding year.

The report stated that, in comparison to other markets, “India continues to see relatively very high level of trading in EDS, particularly in index options.”

According to SEBI, patterns in index option turnover would be monitored going forward in order to protect investors and maintain market stability.

Better monitoring and disclosure of derivatives risks, fewer instances of arbitrary ban periods for derivatives on individual stocks, and improved oversight of the potential for concentration or manipulation risk in index options are some of the measures that SEBI has implemented to make sure that the rapid growth of the derivatives market is matched with appropriate risk monitoring metrics.

The regulator examined the trading behavior of both individual investors for the period of December 2024 to May 2025 in order to provide the factual impact of these actions.