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Mumbai: Air India is introducing a revised policy for the cabin crew members of domestic and international flights, wherein certain sections of the members will have to share rooms during layovers, according to a source. The revised policy will also be applicable for Air India Express, which has merged AIX Connect with itself. Among other changes, the source in the know said the allowances for cabin crew of international flights will be increased from USD 75-125 bracket to USD 85-135 bracket. There is no change in the allowances for the cabin crew of domestic flights. An airline spokesperson said that with the merger of Air India and Vistara formalising, there is a need to harmonise these policies for employees of both the organisations. "As part of that exercise, we have communicated the changes applicable to Air India employees. The revised compensation and benefits continue to be competitive and benchmarked to industry standards," the spokesperson told PTI in a statement. Under the revised policy, cabin crew members, excluding in-flight managers and executives, will have to share rooms during layovers, the source said. In-flight managers and executives are generally senior people with at least 8-9 years of experience. While room sharing for cabin crew is already there at Air India Express and Vistara, this will be the first time such a practice will be introduced at the Tata Group-owned loss-making Air India. The changes in the policy also comes against the backdrop of a section of Air India Express cabin crew members seeking redressal of their HR issues under the labour law. The case is in progress before the Central Labour Commissioner. Meanwhile, the Air India spokesperson also mentioned about the airline introducing a performance-linked compensation and benefits policy for all employees in April 2023. The merger of AIX Connect with Air India Express was completed on October 1 while the integration of Vistara with Air India will be completed next month.

In order to protect investors' interest and cut down on speculative trading, capital market regulator Sebi came down heavily on the derivatives market by announcing a series of measures.The six-step framework is designed to tackle the surge in speculative trading volumes, especially on expiry days, while also acting as a potential deterrent for retail investors engaging in F&O trading.Here's a detailed explainer on what the new rules are and how will they affect the market dynamics1) Six F&O measures by Sebi effective between November 2024 - April 2025.Based on a recent consultation paper floated by the regulator, Sebi announced six measures to reduce the retail interest in F&O trading. These include 1) Upfront collection of options premiums 2) intraday monitoring of position limits 3) Removing calendar spread benefits on expiry day 4) Increasing the contract size for index derivatives 5) Rationalizing weekly index derivatives to one benchmark per exchange and 6) Enhancing margin requirements on options expiry days.2) How does rationalizing weekly index derivatives affect market dynamics?Sebi said each exchange can offer weekly expiries on only one benchmark index. Currently, multiple indices have weekly expiries, which has led to a spike in speculative trading, particularly on expiry days when the premiums are low. For instance, NSE offers weekly options contracts for Nifty Financial index, Nifty index, Nifty Bank index and the Nifty Midcap index.By restricting this to a single benchmark index, the regulator aims to reduce the frenzy of trading seen on multiple indices and stabilize the market.For retail investors, this could reduce opportunities for short-term speculative trades, potentially lowering intraday volatility but also limiting their ability to profit from frequent expiries.Experts said the curtailment of weekly options to one index per exchange will move volumes to the less volatile monthly expiries."Derivatives should be used for hedging exposures and not for pure gambling by speculators with little knowledge, training or experience in them. Overall a welcome step in protecting small investors and safeguarding market integrity," said Ajay Bagga, a market veteran.3) Raising the minimum contract sizeAnother significant change is the increase in the contract size for index derivatives. The minimum contract value will be raised to Rs 15 lakhs, which is aimed at reducing speculative retail participation by making it costlier to enter these trades.This move will ensure that only investors with sufficient capital and risk tolerance engage in these high-risk instruments.4) How does removing calendar spread impact derivative tradingThe removal of calendar spread benefits on expiry day is another crucial change for the derivatives market. Calendar spreads allow traders to offset risk between contracts expiring on different dates, reducing margin requirements. However, Sebi has observed that on expiry days, these spreads can lead to substantial basis risk, where contract values fluctuate wildly, making risk management challenging.By removing this benefit on expiry day, it will be ensured that traders are adequately covered by margins. This change may reduce aggressive trading strategies that exploit minimal margins, particularly on the most volatile expiry day.5) Upfront margin collection for option buyersSebi's decision to mandate upfront collection of options premiums is aimed at curbing the high leverage that retail investors often use when trading in the options segment. By requiring full premium collection before trades are executed, retail traders may be dissuaded from taking on undue leverage and exposing themselves to significant risk.6) Experts take on the F&O measuresWhile some welcomed the new changes that will help curtail excessive retail trading, others pointed out the challenges."With lots of part timers, pass timers, and rich overnight investors coming into the markets armed with so-called knowledge obtained from random groups, these people don't know the risks associated and enter the markets and end up losing money," said Vivek Karwa of Vridhi Investment."Lot Sizes increasing from 5 lakhs to 15 lakhs is aimed at creating a barrier on entry of retail participants where the losses are happening due to lack of knowledge in derivatives, causing financial harm to them. While there surely could be a knee jerk reaction for the same in the short-term, these measures could have a positive impact on the long term from a broader perspective. We could witness a gradual shift from F&O trading to equity trading and investments, which will lead an investor on the path towards building long-term wealth," said Sudeep Shah, Deputy Vice President and Head of Technical & Derivatives Research, SBI Securities."From a broking perspective, the impact on volumes will be higher for those brokers who are highly dependent on derivative volumes and participation and it would be less on those who have a healthy mix of cash and derivative volume participation," Sudeep Shah said.7) What are the challenges that come with the new rulesWhile Sebi aims to enhance market stability by safeguarding investor interests, these checks can also introduce challenges. Experts say stricter norms around leverage, transparency, and capital adequacy could limit the ability of investors to determine their own risk appetite, thereby stifling innovation in trading strategies."By putting guardrails around the market, Sebi may inadvertently reduce participation from those investors who could have otherwise contributed significantly to the evolution and liquidity of the market. Over-regulation in an environment that thrives on strategic flexibility and creativity could dampen the market’s dynamism, affecting India's competitiveness in the global derivatives landscape," said Puneet Sharma, CEO and Fund Manager at Whitespace Alpha."The challenge also now is for market participants to align with these enhanced compliance standards while striving to maintain innovation and growth," Sharma added.8) How do the new rules affect brokersThe broking industry might be in for tough times in the coming days following Sebi tightening norms in the futures and options trading segment.For instance, Zerodha chief Nithin Kamath said the broker has been the big beneficiary of this jump in options volumes in the recent past when volumes went up from 4.6 lakh crore in 2018 to 138 lakh crore in 2024.Sebi's crackdown on F&O addiction among retail traders can alone lead to a 30% to 50% drop in revenue for Zerodha. "Index derivatives today are a significant portion of our revenue, and any change will impact.Other brokers like Angel One too might face a similar hit to financials due to decline in options volumes.(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of the Economic Times)

Indian benchmark indices ended the day nearly flat with a slight negative bias on Tuesday. While gains in IT stocks provided some support, losses in heavyweight stocks like Reliance Industries and HDFC Bank weighed on the overall performance. The BSE Sensex dipped 33 points (0.04%) to close at 84,266, and the NSE Nifty slipped 14 points (0.05%) to settle at 25,797, reflecting cautious market sentiment amidst volatility."Nifty formed a doji pattern with a long upper shadow on the daily chart, indicating market indecision," Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities said. Heavy call writing at 25,800 suggests it may act as strong resistance if sustained, he said. This analyst sees immediate support at 25,750 and opines that a decisive break below this could push the index to 25,600-25,500. On the higher side, a move above 25,800 may propel Nifty towards 26,050, where sellers could become active again, De added.Here are 5 stock recommendations for Thursday:Buy Chambal Fertilizers at Rs 547.50Target Price: Rs 580Stop Loss: Rs 531.50On the daily time frame, Chambal Fertilizers & Chemicals has broken out of a symmetrical triangle, signaling a potential continuation of the uptrend. The stock closed at its all-time high, reflecting strong bullish sentiment, with the close near its record high indicating clear dominance by buyers. The above average volume supports this price action, suggesting heightened buyer interest at the current market price from a momentum perspective, the RSI is positioned in the higher range, reinforcing the positive outlook.(Drumil Vithlani, Technical Research Analyst, Bonanza Portfolio)Buy EID Parry at Rs 869.5Target Price: Rs 910Stop Loss: Rs 847EID Parry has exhibited bullish strength with a breakout from a rounding pattern, signaling accumulation at higher levels and a potential continuation of the uptrend. The decent volume supports this bullish price action. Furthermore, all major EMAs are trending upward, confirming the prevailing uptrend. The momentum indicator, RSI, is currently at 65.49, further reinforcing a positive outlook for the stock in near term.(Drumil vithlani, Technical Research Analyst, Bonanza Portfolio)Buy BBTC at Rs 2,884Target Price: Rs 3,067Stop Loss: Rs 2,584The stock broke through a resistance zone of Rs 2,750-2,820 with a strong bullish green candle after consolidating for one month. The stock is experiencing good buying pressure and is heading toward its next target of Rs 3,067 as T1. There is a high chance that the stock may retest from the zone, with the next support at Rs 2,584. The stock has shown strong buying pressure and has crossed the 50MA in the volume chart for the past two days.(Hariprasad Kizhakkethara,Director, Livelong Wealth)Buy Deepak Fertilizers at Rs 1,109Target Price: Rs 1,261The stock has shown good momentum with a strong bullish green candle after a prolonged period of consolidation. The stock went up by 5% in a single day, gaining more than Rs 45.20 per share, and is currently up by more than 4.2%. The price is heading toward its target of Rs 1,261 as T1. The stock is experiencing good buying pressure and has crossed the 50MA in the volume chart.(Hariprasad Kizhakkethara,Director, Livelong Wealth)Buy BASF India at Rs 7,852Target Price: Rs 9,072Stop Loss: Rs 6,695The stock has given a breakout with a strong bullish green candle on Tuesday, moving up more than 8% in a single day. Earlier, the stock had been moving sideways on the daily chart since July. Now, the price is heading toward its target of Rs 9,072 as T1 in the coming days, with strong support at Rs 6,695. The stock is experiencing good buying pressure and has crossed the 50-DMA in the volume chart.(Hariprasad Kizhakkethara,Director, Livelong Wealth)Also Read: Sebi raises contract size for index derivatives to Rs 15 lakh, effective from Nov 20(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)