The various amendments proposed include raising foreign direct investment (FDI) in the insurance sector to 100 per cent, reduction in paid-up capital, and provision for composite licence, among others.
Mumbai: The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has set up a seven-member committee headed by former chairman of State Bank of India (SBI) Dinesh Khara to look into the key aspects of the Insurance Act, 1938, review previous amendment proposals while incorporating new suggestions. This means that the much-anticipated Insurance Act Amendment Bill, which was expected to be introduced in the second leg of the Budget session, is set to be delayed. The Department of Financial Services (DFS) will then draft a revised amendment bill for stakeholder consultations before reintroducing it in Parliament.
The various amendments proposed include raising foreign direct investment (FDI) in the insurance sector to 100 per cent, reduction in paid-up capital, and provision for composite licence, among others. The mandate of the panel is not to propose any further amendments but to work only on the proposed amendments.
The other members of the panel are N Kannan, former chief executive officer (CEO) of ICICI Prudential Life Insurance; Saurabh Sinha, former executive director (ED) of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI); Girish Radhakrishnan, former chairman and managing director (CMD) of United India Insurance; Alok Mishra MD & CEO of Micro Finance Institutions Network (MFIN); Rakesh Joshi, former member of IRDAI and L.Vishwanathan, a legal expert.
On Monday M Nagaraju, secretary, of the Department of Financial Services (DFS) at a post-budget press conference said that internal consultations have been completed for the Insurance Amendment Bill, which will include details regarding investments and repatriation of profits, in case of FDI. The composite licence in insurance is also part of the reforms.
