New Delhi, April 9 -- India's retail trading revolution has delivered an uneven outcome. While new-age brokerage platforms are raking in record profits, millions of individual investors-particularly in the derivatives market-are nursing heavy losses. The paradox at the heart of India's stock market boom is this: Technology has made trading more accessible, but not necessarily more profitable for the average participant.

Over the past four years, the number of demat accounts in India has soared from 40 million to 150 million. Most of these new investors are under 35, digitally savvy, and armed with user-friendly apps such as Zerodha, GROWW, and Upstox. Yet, even as participation in equity markets has exploded, particularly in high-risk se...