Aamir Hasan
Parliament has passed Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2015. It was first passed in Lok Sabha on 4 March 2015 and later in Rajya Sabha on 12 March 2015, which will become an Act when the President signs it. The amendment bill aims to bring improvements and revisions in the existing laws relating to insurance business in India. The bill also seeks to remove archaic provisions in previous laws and incorporate modern day practices of insurance business that are emerging in a changing dynamic environment, which also includes private participation. It is expected that the foreign investment would bring about `20,000-`25,000 crore in short funds. The amendment bill hikes Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) cap in the insurance sector to 49 percent from present 26 percent. The foreign investment in insurance would be routed under foreign direct investment,foreign portfolio investment,foreign venture capital investment,depository receipts,and non resident indians. Insurance companies are permitted to raise capital through instruments other than equity shares. Instruments would be specified through separate regulations by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDA). However, the voting rights of shareholders are restricted only to equity shares. Sale of shares over 1% of the total equity share capital and purchase of shares resulting in total equity share capital of more than 5%, requires the prior approval of the IRDA. It also adds provision for the establishment of Life Insurance Council and the General Insurance Council. These councils will act as self-regulating bodies for the insurance sector. The bill also grants permission to PSU general insurers to raise funds from the capital market and increases the penalty to deter multilevel marketing of insurance products. There is a strong relationship between foreign investment and economic growth. Larger inflows of foreign investments are needed for the country to achieve a sustainable high trajectory of economic growth. A major role played by the insurance sector is to mobilize national savings and channelize them into investments in different sectors of the economy. FDI in insurance would increase the penetration of insurance in India; FDI can meet India’s long term capital requirements to fund the building of infrastructures. The present paper focuses on the overview of the Indian insurance sector along with the opportunities due to expansion of FDI in insurance in India and the major challenges that it faces.
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