Mumbai, March 31 -- The stock market regulator cannot restrict retail investors in derivatives based on specific thresholds, said Tuhin Kanta Pandey, chairperson, Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), calling it a "sledgehammer" approach.

"Any regulator in any sector needs to balance these two sides," the Sebi chief said at the Mint India Investment Summit and Awards 2025 in Mumbai on Saturday.

"F&O itself is a complex market. We cannot have a sledgehammer or a blunt approach; we need a surgeon's knife. We need to know exactly how, otherwise innovations will be lost," Pandey said, stressing the importance of nuanced, data-driven regulation to avoid stifling innovation.

Pandey's comments come in the wake of Sebi's 1 October mea...