By Irshad Mushtaq
A young person’s ambition deserves encouragement. The desire to support parents, build a home, start a business or become financially independent is worthy of respect. But that ambition needs protection from one dangerous idea: that a mobile phone and a few successful trades can provide a dependable shortcut to prosperity.
For Kashmir’s youth, the message is not to fear financial markets or reject technology. It is to understand the difference between investing, speculation and prohibited money gaming—and never confuse a possible quick profit with a reliable livelihood.
The strongest warning comes not from rumour, but from India’s securities regulator. SEBI’s studies repeatedly show that a large majority of individual participants in equity derivatives and intraday trading lose money. These findings deserve attention before another young person risks family savings in the hope of becoming rich quickly.
THE OFFICIAL NUMBERS EVERY YOUNG PERSON SHOULD READ
SEBI’s September 2024 study found that 93% of individual equity futures and options traders incurred losses during FY2021–22 to FY2023–24. Aggregate losses exceeded ₹1.8 lakh crore over those three years. The regulator reported average losses of approximately ₹2 lakh per loss-making trader, including transaction costs.
More recent SEBI data put the proportion of loss-making individual F&O traders at 87.7% in FY2025–26—still almost nine out of ten.
The warning extends beyond derivatives. SEBI’s July 2024 study of intraday trading in the equity cash market found that:
71% of individual intraday traders incurred net losses in FY2022–23.
Among traders younger than 30, the proportion losing money was 76%.
Among those making more than 500 trades in a year, 80% lost money.
Loss-making traders paid trading costs equal to an additional 57% of their trading losses.
These figures describe different studies, periods and groups. They must not be combined into one loss rate. They are also national findings—not Kashmir-specific statistics. Nevertheless, their relevance to young people considering the same activities is clear.
WHY DOES F&O TAKE MONEY FROM SO MANY TRADERS?
The central danger is leverage: a relatively small amount of money can support a much larger market exposure. This makes profits look attractive, but it also magnifies the consequences of an adverse price movement.
Options add another layer of complexity. A buyer must assess direction, the size and timing of the expected move, the price paid, changing volatility and the time remaining before expiry. An option can lose value even when the market eventually moves in the direction the buyer expected.
Buying an option because its premium appears affordable does not make it a low-risk investment. A small premium can still be lost in full.
Nor is selling options a simple escape from these risks. SEBI’s August 2026 behavioural study found a lower incidence of losses among predominantly option-selling traders in its analysed sample, but substantially larger losses when those traders did lose. The regulator cautioned that findings for smaller trader categories were indicative and required careful interpretation.
The lesson is important: a strategy that wins frequently can still suffer a devastating loss. A high winning percentage is not the same thing as safety.
MORE TRADING DOES NOT AUTOMATICALLY MEAN MORE LEARNING
In most professions, practice helps develop skill. But repeated exposure to financial risk does not automatically create a profitable trading method.
SEBI’s 2026 behavioural study found that higher turnover and greater trading intensity were associated with higher loss rates and larger average losses. Traders active for more than 100 days accounted for 42% of traders but 87% of total losses in the relevant analysis. The study identifies associations, not proof that trading frequency alone caused those losses.
This distinction matters for anyone thinking, “I have lost money, but another few months will certainly make me successful.”
Experience without a tested method, honest accounting and effective risk controls can become repeated exposure to the same mistakes. A losing trade should not become a personal challenge that must be defeated with a larger bet.
INTRADAY TRADING: SMALL COSTS CAN BECOME A LARGE BURDEN
Intraday trading does not need option expiry to damage an account. Frequent buying and selling creates repeated costs, while short-term price movements remain uncertain.
SEBI found that loss-making intraday traders paid an additional 57% of their trading losses in trading costs. For illustration, a ₹10,000 trading loss accompanied by costs in that proportion would become a total loss of ₹15,700. This illustrates the study’s aggregate finding; it is not a fixed charge for every trader.
Young people should therefore judge results after all applicable costs—not by the number of winning trades, a screenshot of one profitable day or gross profits shown before expenses.
CRYPTOCURRENCY: TAXATION IS NOT A CERTIFICATE OF SAFETY
Cryptocurrency should not be treated as identical to F&O or online betting. However, speculative buying carries serious price risk, and SEBI’s equity-market loss percentages cannot honestly be presented as crypto loss statistics.
A Bank for International Settlements study using data from August 2015 to December 2022 estimated that a majority of crypto-app users in nearly all economies studied lost money on their bitcoin holdings. It also found that around major crypto-market disruptions, larger investors sold while smaller retail investors bought. These are historical international findings—not a current Indian or Kashmir-specific loss rate.
India’s Income Tax Department states that income from transfers of virtual digital assets is subject to a 30% tax rate, with applicable surcharge and cess. Its guidance also describes restrictions on deductions and loss adjustment, alongside 1% tax deduction at source on qualifying transactions, subject to the applicable conditions and thresholds.
A tax obligation should never be mistaken for a government guarantee of an asset, a platform or an investment return. Anyone undertaking such transactions must understand the applicable reporting requirements and seek qualified tax advice where necessary.
ONLINE MONEY GAMES: RESPECT THE LAW, NOT THE ADVERTISEMENT
Ordinary recreational gaming, recognised esports and online money games are not interchangeable categories.
According to the Government of India’s explanation of the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025, the law prohibits online money games, whether based on chance, skill or a combination of both. It also prohibits their advertising, promotion and facilitation, including associated payment processing. The government states that the supporting Online Gaming Rules, 2026 came into force on May 1, 2026.
The same framework supports permissible esports and online social games. Therefore, it would be inaccurate to describe every digital game as gambling or every gaming career as unlawful. The distinction depends on the legal category and characteristics of the activity.
For young people, the practical message is straightforward: an app’s availability, a celebrity endorsement or a social-media promotion does not establish that its activities are lawful. Follow Indian law and the directions of the relevant authorities—not a promoter’s assurances.
RESPECT REGULATION—BUT UNDERSTAND ITS LIMITS
Financial education should neither demonise legitimate markets nor minimise their risks.
SEBI’s findings do not mean that every trader loses, that all derivatives activity is gambling or that regulated markets have no useful purpose. They show that the outcomes for individual traders in the studied segments have overwhelmingly been unfavourable.
Regulatory oversight is not a promise of profit. Investors still need to understand the product, the intermediary, the costs and their own ability to absorb losses.
Similarly, historical loss figures are not predictions of what a particular person will earn tomorrow. Their value lies in correcting unrealistic expectations before money is put at risk.
A MESSAGE TO KASHMIR’S YOUTH AND FAMILIES
Do not measure your financial progress against someone else’s profit screenshot. Measure it against your own goals: education completed, debt controlled, savings protected, skills developed and a livelihood strengthened.
Money intended for fees, medical needs, household expenses or essential business purchases should not become an experiment in high-risk speculation.
Parents and educators should discuss these issues without humiliation. A young person who has lost money needs an honest conversation—not pressure to conceal the loss or recover it through a bigger risk.
Kashmir needs ambition directed towards productive work, enterprise, professional skills and informed financial decisions. Learning about markets can be valuable. Treating them as an assured daily salary is a very different proposition.
CONCLUSION: PROTECT THE DREAM, NOT THE SHORTCUT
The desire to succeed quickly is understandable. But a family’s financial future deserves more than a wager on the next price movement.
SEBI’s evidence offers a clear warning: large majorities of individual F&O and intraday traders lost money in the periods studied. India’s online gaming framework also draws a firm legal distinction between permissible gaming and prohibited online money games. These facts should shape decisions before—not after—savings disappear.
To Kashmir’s youth: build knowledge before exposure, protect essential savings, respect Indian law and refuse promises of effortless wealth. Your greatest asset is not your next trade. It is your ability to learn, earn and build a future that does not depend on recovering yesterday’s loss.
Public-awareness article based on the official and institutional sources cited. National statistics are not presented as Kashmir-specific findings. This article is not personalised investment, tax or legal advice; applicable laws, notifications and regulatory directions should be checked before acting.
