NSE CEO pitches for minimum qualifying criteria for derivatives trading

NSE’s managing director and CEO Ashishkumar Chauhan made a case for ‘minimum qualifying criteria’ for those participating in derivatives trading to prevent people from lower strata of society from wasting their money on speculation.

In light of capital markets regulator Sebi’s finding that over 90 per cent of of the traders lose money in derivatives trading, the head of the IPO-bound stock exchange said no developing country can allow “lower strata citizens 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 lower strata people don’t 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 funnel more money into the cash segment.

The government in the 2026-27 Budget raised the securities transaction tax in a bid to dissuade people from speculative trading. The policy and regulatory measures have impacted volumes in the market.