IRDAI imposes ₹3.39 cr penalty on Star Health Insurance
The regulator, however, did not elaborate on the violations in its July 25th communication.
On Saturday (July 26, 2025), intimating the stock exchange of the action, Star Health said the penalty has been levied with respect to certain aspects pertaining to safeguard of data and cyber security. It said the financial impact is restricted to the penalty amount and no impact is expected on the operation or other activities of the company. The options available for addressing the matter are being evaluated, including appealing against the order of IRDAI to SAT.
The standalone insurer was in the spotlight last year after it came under a cyber attack in which personal data of customers got breached.
The company's leadership had in October confirmed the cyber attack and pointed to how it responded swiftly and decisively. In the wake of the attack it was working very closely with cyber security experts, regulatory and law enforcement authority to thoroughly investigate the breach. It had also succeeded in taking down the data exposed, a senior executive said. The insurer said it was fortifying its systems with advanced security measures and controls to prevent any future incidents.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
India.com
3 hours ago
- India.com
Removing FDI Cap To Attract Sustained Foreign Investment In Insurance Sector: FM Sitharaman
New Delhi: With the increase in foreign direct investment (FDI) limit from 74 per cent to 100 per cent for insurance companies, the government aims to unlock the full potential of the Indian insurance sector, which is projected to grow at 7.1 per cent annually over the next five years, outpacing global and emerging market growth, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Monday. According to the minister, this is an enabling provision which will help the interested insurers to explore hiking the FDI percentage. "Further, this will eliminate the need for foreign investors to find Indian partners for the remaining 26 per cent, easing the process of setting up their operations in India, effectively increasing the number of insurers in the country," she said in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha. Removing the FDI cap will attract stable and sustained foreign investment, increase competition, facilitate technology transfer, and improve insurance penetration in the country, FM Sitharaman noted. Section 2(7A) (b) of the Insurance Act, 1938, prescribes the upper limit of FDI in an insurance company. The decision to increase the FDI component in a particular insurance company is made by its promoters, depending upon various factors such as the capital requirement of the company, solvency requirement, future business plans, etc, according to the government. The equity share capital of life insurers was Rs 24,110 crore, with the FDI part at Rs 11,529 crore (as on December 12, 2024), as per the IRDAI's data. FM Sitharaman also said that India offers a compelling growth opportunity for foreign banks, and the government is actively encouraging foreign investment in the banking sector. In April, addressing the India-UK Investor Roundtable discussion in London with around 60 investors, representing various pension funds, insurance companies, banks and other financial institutions in London, the Finance Minister outlined priorities of the government for enabling sustained economic growth and investment opportunities with the policy support that is shaping New India. She said that with an expanding middle class and a strong and stable policy environment, India is set to become the sixth largest insurance market by 2032, with the expected growth at 7.1 per cent CAGR from 2024-2028 - one of the fastest growing insurance markets among G20 countries.
Mint
a day ago
- Mint
‘No plan for GST on UPI transactions exceeding ₹2,000', says MoS Finance in Rajya Sabha. What we know…
The Union Minister of State (MoS) for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary has clarified in the Rajya Sabha during the Monsoon Session of Parliament that the government does not intend to charge GST on UPI transactions over ₹ 2,000. Speaking in the Upper House on July 22, while answering questions the minister clarified speculations that the Finance Ministry is plans to impose goods and service tax (GST) on unified payments interface or UPI transactions that exceed ₹ 2,000 in value. 'There is no recommendation of levying GST on UPI transactions of over 2000 from the GST Council,' Pankaj Chaudhary stated on July 22, according to an Economic Times report. He added that GST rates and exemptions are decided on the basis of recommendations of the GST Council, which is a Constitutional body comprising of members from both the Centre and States and Union Territories (UTs), it added. Further, Chaudhary added that the Centre does not foresee revenue shortfall at this stage, and aims to achieve Budget estimate targets for 2025-26. The fiscal deficit for 2025-26 is estimated to be around ₹ 15.69 lakh crore, at 4.4 per cent of GDP. In a written reply in the Rajya Sabha, he said the government supports state finances through Finance Commission grants, Centrally Sponsored Schemes, and Special Assistance as loans to states for capital expenditure. Total-transport-systems-share-price-nse-bse-s0004808" data-vars-anchor-text="Total" data-vars-link-type="Auto" data-vars-page-type="story">'Total resources being transferred to the states, including the devolution of state's share in taxes, grants/loans and releases under Centrally Sponsored Schemes, etc, in Budget Estimates for 2025-26 is about ₹ 25.01 lakh crore,' he added. In reply to another question, Chaudhary said, as per inputs received from Public Sector Banks (PSBs), as on March 31, 2025, 96 per cent staff are in position against their business requirement. 'The small proportion of gap is attributable to attrition on account of superannuation and other usual factors, including unplanned exits. During the last 5 years (FY 2020-25), banks have recruited 1,48,687 employees, and for FY 2025-26, recruitment of 48,570 employees is underway,' he added. Replying to another question, the minister said that insurers are required to decide on the request for cashless authorisation within 1 hour of receipt of such request and grant final authorisation within 3 hours of the receipt of discharge authorisation request from the hospital as per IRDAI Master Circular on Health Insurance Business dated May 29, 2024. 'However, the data related to the average time taken by insurance companies and third-party administrators (TPAs) for the claim settlement is not maintained by IRDAI. IRDAI has informed that during FY 2023-24, 58.39 per cent of total claims were settled through cashless mode in terms of count and 66.16 per cent in terms of amount,' he said.
Mint
a day ago
- Mint
‘No plan for GST on UPI transactions exceeding ₹2,000', says MoS Finance in Rajya Sabha. What we know…
The Minister of State (MoS) for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary has clarified in the Rajya Sabha during the Monsoon Session of Parliament that the government does not intend to charge GST on UPI transactions over ₹ 2,000. Speaking in the Upper House on July 22, while answering questions the minister clarified speculations that the Finance Ministry is plans to impose goods and service tax (GST) on unified payments interface or UPI transactions that exceed ₹ 2,000 in value. 'There is no recommendation of levying GST on UPI transactions of over 2000 from the GST Council,' Pankaj Chaudhary stated on July 22, according to an Economic Times report. He added that GST rates and exemptions are decided on the basis of recommendations of the GST Council, which is a Constitutional body comprising of members from both the Centre and States and Union Territories (UTs), it added. The Central government does not foresee any revenue shortfall at this stage and aims to achieve the targets fixed in the Budget Estimates for 2025-26, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary informed Parliament on Tuesday. As per the Budget, the Centre has estimated the fiscal deficit for 2025-26 at 4.4 per cent of GDP, amounting to ₹ 15.69 lakh crore. In a written reply in the Rajya Sabha, the minister said the Central government supports state finances through Finance Commission grants, Centrally Sponsored Schemes, and Special Assistance as loans to states for capital expenditure. Total resources being transferred to the states, including the devolution of state's share in taxes, grants/loans and releases under Centrally Sponsored Schemes, etc, in Budget Estimates for 2025-26 is about ₹ 25.01 lakh crore, he said. In reply to another question, Chaudhary said, as per inputs received from Public Sector Banks (PSBs), as on March 31, 2025, 96 per cent staff are in position against their business requirement. The small proportion of gap is attributable to attrition on account of superannuation and other usual factors, including unplanned exits, he said. Further, during the last 5 years (FY 2020-25), banks have recruited 1,48,687 employees, and for FY 2025-26, recruitment of 48,570 employees is underway, he added. Replying to another question, Chaudhary said, insurers are required to decide on the request for cashless authorisation within 1 hour of receipt of such request and grant final authorisation within 3 hours of the receipt of discharge authorisation request from the hospital as per IRDAI Master Circular on Health Insurance Business dated May 29, 2024. However, the data related to the average time taken by insurance companies and third-party administrators (TPAs) for the claim settlement is not maintained by IRDAI, he said. IRDAI has informed that during FY 2023-24, 58.39 per cent of total claims were settled through cashless mode in terms of count and 66.16 per cent in terms of amount, he said. As per the data provided by National Health Authority, he said, the number of hospitals onboarded to National Health Claims Exchange (NHCX) is 450 as on March 28, 2025. In another reply, Chaudhary said, enforcement action has been taken against 886 entities during the period April 1, 2024, to June 30, 2025, for violation of provisions of SEBI (Prohibition of Fraudulent and Unfair Trade Practices Relating to Securities Market) Regulations, 2003. Continuous monitoring of key parameters is done to assess the effectiveness of measures implemented in the market, he said. Surveillance systems, data analytics tools and digital forensics tools are constantly upgraded to detect manipulations, he added.
