Is Govt Shutting down F&O Trading - The Reality | Nirmala Sitharaman's Take

Is the Government planning to ban F&O trading in India? Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has finally spoken and her statement has brought clarity, calm, and a bit of relief to India’s massive trading community.

At the SBI Banking & Economy Conclave today, FM Sitharaman was asked a sharp question by a journalist, about the huge losses that retail traders have faced in Futures & Options (F&O), and whether the Government plans to intervene or restrict access to this segment.

Her response was crystal clear: “The Government is NOT here to shut the door on F&O trading.”

That one line changed everything.

In this video, we decode what it means for the one crore plus active F&O traders in India. We go through the full context of what was said at the Conclave, why this statement matters, and how it ties in with SEBI’s recent study on retail losses in derivatives - a study that analysed 95 lakh retail accounts and found that 93% traders lost money between FY22- FY24, with total losses crossing ₹1.8 lakh crore.

But here’s the question —
If traders are losing, should the answer be to ban the segment?
Or should we educate and empower them to understand risk?
Who is at the real culprit of this situation? Finfluencers, People's greed or F&O segment in itself.

That’s the crux of this discussion.

In this episode, we explain how both the Government and SEBI are looking at the issue - not as a matter of banning, but of balancing. SEBI Chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey recently said that the regulator “cannot just shut down weekly expiries or derivatives trading overnight” and that reforms, if any, must be data-driven and gradual.

We also talk about the brokers’ angle - why they’ve stayed quiet even though a big part of their business depends on F&O.

Nithin Kamath from Zerodha hinted that if weekly expiries are restricted, brokerage revenues could fall 30-40%, a reminder that this market isn’t just about traders - it’s an entire ecosystem.

At the same time, SEBI has done a phenomenal job cleaning out unregulated and offshore platforms - from binary options to illegal forex apps - ensuring that Indian traders remain inside a regulated, transparent market. If you push people out of F&O without education, they’ll simply migrate to unregulated markets again.

The only sustainable answer is awareness, not restriction.

This video dives deep into that idea - that trading and investing are democratic rights.
Every individual should have the freedom to choose where and how they participate - equities, mutual funds, derivatives - provided they understand the risks.

You can’t build a financial democracy by fencing off certain doors.

Watch till the end as we connect the dots between policy, perception, and personal responsibility.

If you’re an active trader, or even someone curious about how this impacts you — this is a must-watch.

What’s your take - should retail traders have full access to F&O, or should there be limits?
Comment below and join the conversation.

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