New Delhi, Aug. 22 -- With the safety of retail investors in mind, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) is planning further steps to curb excessive risk-taking in the market for derivatives. The regulator is thinking of increasing the tenure of equity derivative contracts, its chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey said on Thursday.

Also Read: Indira Rajaraman: Consider turfing out short-term equity derivatives

Several other measures have already been taken. This segment has Sebi's attention for good reason: about 90% of individual traders, it found, have been losing money.

Trading volumes exceed what we would expect if these contracts were being used only by sophisticated players who understand them properly. Proprietary traders and...