When Subhash sat down to file his income tax return for the last financial year, the shock hit hard. His business had been doing well, so he never noticed the financial drain. But as he tallied up his trading activities, the numbers painted a grim picture -- he had traded nearly Rs 50 lakh and ended up with a loss of Rs 10 lakh.

How did this happen?

The lure of social media advice

Like many others, Subhash had ventured into stock trading through the influence of a friend and an ever-growing stream of YouTube videos promising quick riches. He was quickly convinced by a so-called expert on social media who showed charts, fancy setups, and talked about how he turned a few thousand rupees into crores.

What he did not realize was that most of these self-proclaimed gurus earned more from affiliate links, course sales, and broker commissions than from actual trading. As the days passed, Subhash's trades piled up losses. He followed strategies he didn't fully understand and overtraded under the illusion of confidence. The result? Crippling losses that he only truly noticed once the tax documents were in front of him.

Subhash's story is not unique. In fact, it mirrors what is happening to millions of retail traders in India.

SEBI's warning: The alarming truth

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has been issuing alerts about retail investors falling into the derivative trading trap. The latest numbers are nothing short of staggering:

* 91% of individual traders incurred losses in the derivatives segment during the financial year 2025.

* The average loss per person was a whopping Rs 1.1 lakh more than what most Indians earn in a month.

* The total net loss........

© Mathrubhumi English