Goyal meets National Stock Exchange's CEO Ashish Chauhan

Addressing a post-budget conference on Sunday, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the government is not against derivative trade, but wants small investors, who are facing huge losses, to stay away from the speculative FO market.

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Monday held a meeting with National Stock Exchange (NSE) MD and CEO Ashish Kumar Chauhan in Mumbai on the holistic benefits of the Budget 2026-27. Investors and captains from the mutual funds and asset management industry were also present at the meeting. ''Had an excellent and engaging breakfast meeting on the holistic benefits of the #ViksitBharatBudget2026 at the NSE, with their MD & CEO @AshishChauhan ji, along with investors and captains from the mutual funds and asset management industry. Delighted by their optimism following the budget, their excitement for the growth opportunities that it supports, as well as the new ideas and suggestions that they shared,'' Goyal said in a social media post. The meeting comes on the heels of the FY27 Budget proposal to increase the securities transaction tax (STT) on futures contracts to 0.05 per cent from 0.02 per cent. STT on options premium and exercise of options are proposed to be raised to 0.15 per cent from the present rate of 0.1 per cent and 0.125 per cent, respectively. The government expects to collect Rs 73,700 crore through STT in FY27. Soon after the announcement on Sunday afternoon, benchmark index Sensex plunged 2,370.36 points, or 2.88 per cent, to slip below the 80,000-mark to 79,899.42. The 50-share NSE Nifty tanked 748.9 points, or 2.95 per cent, to 24,571.75. Later, the indices bounced back. Addressing a post-budget conference on Sunday, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the government is not against derivative trade, but wants small investors, who are facing huge losses, to stay away from the speculative F&O market. ''This nominal increase is purely aimed at speculation, only to deter them, to discourage them. We are not against it (F&O trade), but small investors are facing losses, so how can we be quiet, so it (STT hike on F&O) is to deter such investments,'' Sitharaman said.

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