Income Tax law is not clear on this issue. If there is any kind of speculation it is deemed business income. But if derivatives are used as an investment/hedging vehicle then it can be considered as short term gain/loss.
I know of a case in Bangalore where a guy had made significant amount using derivatives. Initially he had filed as short term gain and income tax department raised an issue. Finally, the guy won the case on the grounds that he held positions for couple of days to weeks.
My CAs opinion is that if the positions are held for more than 2-3 days those can be treated as short term gains and the remaining ones as business income.
Hope this helps
Nitin
ps: I have filed my losses in F&O as short term loss. This was accepted by income tax department. Short/Long term losses can be carried forward for 8 years and offset in any of the 8 years against Short/Long term gain. Hopefully with 60 min I will get to use this benefit