# Key statistics — sources and citations

Every number below has a public source. Use these directly in copy; the sources are listed so fact-checkers can verify.

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## SEBI retail F&O statistics

**Source:** Securities and Exchange Board of India — *Study on individual trader participation in the equity derivatives segment.* Published 2023, updated through FY24.

| Statistic | Value | Period |
|---|---|---|
| Individuals reporting net losses in equity F&O | 93% | FY22-FY24 aggregate |
| Individuals reporting net losses in equity F&O | 89.4% | FY24 specifically |
| Average loss per losing individual trader | ₹1.10 lakh | FY24 |
| Total retail equity F&O loss pool | ₹51,689 crore | FY24 |
| First-year F&O trader loss rate | 92-94% | FY24 |
| Average retail intraday option buyer realised return on capital | approximately -60% | FY24 |
| Average retail option seller realised return on capital | approximately -15% | FY24 |
| Concentration of capital in top 3 positions — losing traders | 68% | FY24 |
| Concentration of capital in top 3 positions — winning traders | 34% | FY24 |

**Citation format for press use:**
"According to SEBI's 2024 individual trader study, 89.4 per cent of retail equity F&O traders lost money in FY24, with a total loss pool of ₹51,689 crore."

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## Indian retail participation

**Sources:** NSDL, CDSL (aggregate depository data); NSE and BSE exchange reports.

| Statistic | Value | Period |
|---|---|---|
| Active demat accounts in India | approximately 38 crore | End of FY24 |
| Growth in retail demat accounts since FY19 | approximately 8× | FY19 to FY24 |
| Retail share of equity cash-segment turnover | 35-40% | FY24 |
| Retail share of equity options premium | approximately 35% | FY24 |

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## Published retention and pedagogy research

**Sources cited inline; full references available on request.**

| Finding | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Tested recall advantage over passive review at 3 months | 30-50% | Karpicke & Blunt, *Science*, 2011 |
| Tactile writing retention advantage over digital note-taking | approximately 40% | Mueller & Oppenheimer, *Psychological Science*, 2014 |
| Working memory decline under high-cortisol state | 15-22% | Lupien et al., 2007 |

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## Physiological response to live trading (paper-to-live transition)

**Sources cited inline; the Bharath Shiksha article on the paper-to-live bridge compiles these.**

| Finding | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Heart-rate elevation in first 30 seconds of first live order | 20-50 bpm | Andrew Lo, MIT, Trader Biometrics Study 2005-2010 |
| Cortisol elevation in first minutes of live trading | 30-70% | Coates & Herbert, *PNAS*, 2008 |
| Working-memory capacity decline during elevated-cortisol state | 15-22% | Lupien et al., 2007 |

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## Backtesting-mistake frequency (internal estimate)

**Source:** Bharath Shiksha Research Desk, observational analysis across open-sourced retail Python backtests and documented strategy deployments.

| Mistake | Estimated frequency in retail backtests |
|---|---|
| Look-ahead bias (signal and return on same bar) | approximately 45% |
| Survivorship bias (current index constituents only) | approximately 70% |
| Under-counted transaction costs (below Indian round-trip 0.30-0.40%) | approximately 60% |
| Data-snooping without correction | approximately 80% |

These are Bharath Shiksha research estimates, not SEBI or exchange data. Citation should make the distinction clear.

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## Transaction-cost benchmarks (Indian retail)

**Source:** Bharath Shiksha curriculum cost computation, verified against Zerodha, Upstox, and Groww brokerage disclosures as of 2026.

| Cost component | Rate | Applies to |
|---|---|---|
| Brokerage — equity delivery | 0% (most retail brokers) | NSE/BSE cash segment |
| Brokerage — intraday / F&O | ₹20 per executed order (cap) | Zerodha, Upstox, Groww baseline |
| STT — equity delivery | 0.10% on sell | Sell side only |
| STT — equity intraday | 0.025% on sell | Sell side only |
| STT — options sell | 0.0625% on premium | Sell side only |
| Exchange transaction charges | 0.00345% NSE / 0.00375% BSE | Both sides |
| GST on brokerage + transaction charges | 18% | Both sides |
| SEBI turnover fee | 0.0001% | Both sides |
| Stamp duty | 0.015% delivery / 0.003% intraday | Buy side only |
| **Round-trip total, equity delivery** | **0.30-0.40%** | — |
| **Round-trip total, options (by premium)** | **approximately 0.20%** | — |