Blitz Bureau
New Delhi: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that it is the duty of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to regulate the futures and options (F&O) markets amid concerns over excess volatility in the derivatives segment.
In an interaction with Sanjay Pugalia, CEO and Editor-in-Chief of the NDTV Network, the Finance Minister said: “We believe it is for SEBI to do that regulation in the market, just like they have been voicing concerns about the speculative activity happening in the F&O market.”
In a bid to foster a more stable and mature investment environment, the Government, in the Union Budget 2024, has announced an increase in security transactions tax (STT) on futures and options trading.
Sitharman said the Budget proposal to increase the securities transaction tax on futures and options is to “show the government’s intent to indicate to people the high-risk nature of such markets, and not to raise revenue”.