Reform push: Insurance amendment bill heads to Parliament; changes to IBC, Companies Act will have to wait
NEW DELHI
:
The Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill, proposing sweeping reforms such as 100% foreign direct investment (FDI) and composite licensing, is likely to be tabled in the Monsoon Session of Parliament in July, three people aware of the plan said.
However, amendments to clarify the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), 2016, and changes to the Companies Act, 2023, are unlikely to make it to the coming session, the people said on the condition of anonymity.
The Centre is also awaiting a Parliament select committee's views on the new Income Tax Bill, 2025, meant to simplify direct tax laws, expected in July, so that it can be introduced in the Winter Session of Parliament towards the end of November or early December, said one of the three people quoted above.
The select committee, led by the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP's) Baijayant Panda, is expected to give its report on the first day of the monsoon session, likely to begin on 21 July.
Insurance reforms
The insurance amendment bill was slated for introduction in the Budget session, but got delayed as the finance ministry sought to add provisions on 100% FDI and the ease of operational considerations for foreign investors, requiring fresh vetting by the law ministry before cabinet approval.
'Several provisions of the bill required time for regulatory and industry readiness. It has now been finalized," the second person said, adding that the cabinet approval could come soon.
The bill focuses on ensuring clarity and preparedness, said the third person. It will revise three key legislations—the Insurance Act, 1938, Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) Act, 1956, and the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) Act, 1999—paving the way for greater autonomy for the insurance regulator and the LIC for appointments, office setup, and staffing.
The comprehensive legislative structure will eliminate the need for future amendments to the LIC Act and related laws to enable composite licensing.
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The bill proposes composite insurance licences with a higher capital threshold of ₹150 crore while retaining existing capital norms for insurance and reinsurance at ₹100 crore and ₹200 crore, respectively.
A composite licence, already allowed in Singapore, Malaysia, and the UK, will allow a single insurer to offer both life and non-life products, currently permitted only through separate entities.
Besides allowing 100% FDI, the bill simplifies operating conditions for foreign reinsurers by slashing the net-owned fund requirement from ₹5,000 crore to ₹1,000 crore.
Queries emailed to spokespersons for the ministry of finance and corporate affairs on Tuesday remained unanswered.
Experts believe the bill will deepen insurers' reach in underserved rural and semi-urban areas, making insurance more accessible with tailored, affordable products. It will also enhance firms' risk management capacity, speed up tech adoption, and grow their customer base, leading to a strong foundation for long-term sectoral growth.
However, some industry executives have their reservations.
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'The reforms are well-intentioned. Well thought-out? Perhaps not. A 100% FDI for insurers will be welcome, but how many will bite remains to be seen. Even now, many foreign partners in joint ventures have not touched the current permissible 74%," said Balasundaram, secretary general, Insurance Brokers Association of India.
'As for composite licences, it is an uncharted area in India, and the outcomes are not easy to predict. Capital for serious insurers has never been an issue; so, the lowering of the minimum requirement does not really add value," he added.
He said ease of operations for foreign entities sounds good on paper, but implementation and market conditions will decide whether it will work or not. In short, outcomes remain an act of crystal gazing as of now.
Since 2000, when the insurance sector was opened to private players by gradually raising FDI limits from 26% to 74%, it has seen robust growth. Between 2014 and January 2024, while the number of insurers rose from 53 to 70, insurance penetration grew from 3.9% to 4%, and insurance density nearly doubled from $52 to $92.
A flat 4% insurance penetration against the global average of 7% "means that while the insurance sector has expanded, the expansion has been in line with the broader economy and has not really outpaced it, which you would expect a sunrise sector to", said Narendra Ganpule, partner and national financial services advisory leader, professional services firm Grant Thornton Bharat.
'The need of the hour is revolutionary changes, which is what the bill attempts to bring about to propel India to achieve its espoused vision of 'Insurance for all by 2047'," he added.
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Pavanjit Singh Dhingra, joint managing director, Prudent Insurance Brokers, echoed his views, saying the proposed changes will help attract the required capital, greater focus, and a wider distribution network, all of which are critical to deepening insurance penetration, especially in underserved and rural markets.
The draft bill also empowers the insurance regulator to set relaxed licensing and capital requirements for smaller insurers or single-product entities, replacing the fixed capital clause with a more flexible, consultative framework.
It introduces a differential licensing regime to support micro and niche insurers—with a minimum capital of ₹50 crore on a case-by-case basis—in serving low-income and rural populations.
It also paves the way for captive insurers, allowing conglomerates to establish in-house insurers to manage group-level risks.
In an earlier conference, M. Nagaraju, financial services secretary, had said the new insurance laws would attract global investors, foster competition, enhance product quality, improve customer service, and lower premiums, bringing India on par with economies like Canada, Brazil, Australia, and China.
But C.R. Vijayan, former secretary general of the General Insurance Council, a representative body of general insurers, said though the reform measures signal a liberal investment climate, investors will judge it by the sector's long-term returns over a decade or more. 'Long-term returns entail higher risk for investors, especially given the potential impact of a change in government and its implications on investment policies."
Corporate reforms
While the IBC amendments under discussion mainly seek to clarify legislative provisions in light of certain judicial pronouncements and to make the law more efficient, the proposed Companies Act amendments are based on an expert committee's suggestions for modifying the regulatory framework for statutory auditors and improving the ease of doing business.
Bankruptcy law experts said that while further legislative streamlining of the IBC is awaited, all stakeholders should strive for timely decision-making and ensure the sanctity of the debt resolution process.
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'The stakeholders need to develop and follow the right practices in insolvency resolution processes. The regulatory authorities should honour the IBC principles and should not leverage their position as a regulator to recover the dues during the moratorium period," said Anoop Rawat, partner (Insolvency and Bankruptcy) at law firm Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co.
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