F&O Margin Rule & Rajesh Exports Audit Shake Markets

SEBI's F&O Margin Rule Is Now Fully Live — Here's What Changes The F&O margin overhaul that SEBI has been phasing in is now fully operational. The rule is straightforward: at least 50% of a trader's total margin obligation in futures and options must be held in cash or cash-equivalent instruments. Think treasury bills, liquid mutual fund units, or bank fixed deposits. Pledged shares, which traders have long used to meet margin requirements without actually moving cash, can now cover no more than half the requirement. This isn't a tweak. It's a structural change in how capital sits behind derivatives positions. The immediate effect is reduced firepower for retail and proprietary traders who were running high-exposure books backed by share collateral. If you held ₹10 lakh in pledged equity and were using it to carry a full F&O position, you now need ₹5 lakh in actual cash sitting alongside it. That cash has an opportunity cost. It can't be deployed elsewhere. Speculative volumes, particularly in the weekly options segment that has already been under regulatory pressure, are likely to feel this compression in the near term. For the broader market, the adjustment is healthy from a systemic standpoint. Forced liquidations during sharp drawdowns have historically been amplified by over-pledged collateral chains. Tighter cash requirements reduce that tail risk. But in the short run, expect some liquidity thinning in mid-cap and small-cap futures where retail participation is heaviest. Rajesh Exports: A ₹15.15 Lakh Crore Question [Rajesh Exports](/stock/RAJESHEXPO) (NSE: RAJESHEXPO) dropped roughly 5% after SEBI ordered a forensic audit following an alleged revenue misstatement of ₹15.15 lakh crore. Read that number carefully. ₹15.15 lakh crore. That figure dwarfs India's entire goods export value in most recent fiscal years. For a company with reported annual revenue running in the tens of thousands of crores, a misstatement of that magnitude, if the allegations hold ...