Latest news with #InsuranceAmendmentBill
Time of India
5 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Unregulated lending may soon be banned
The government is likely to introduce a bill in the upcoming monsoon session of Parliament to ban unregulated lending activities, aiming to prevent fraud and protect citizens. This bill will not affect informal lending among relatives. It prioritizes citizens' benefits over the Insurance Amendment Bill, seeking to raise foreign investment in the insurance sector. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads New Delhi: The government is likely to introduce a bill banning any lending activity not authorised by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) or any other law to prevent comments have been received and final consultations are going on with the law ministry on the Banning of Unregulated Lending Activities Bill , said a senior government bill may be introduced in the upcoming monsoon session of Parliament, which will be held from July 21 to August 12. It will not cover informal lending among relatives."The idea is to bring the bill in this Parliament session, and we may even prioritise it over the Insurance Amendment Bill , given that citizens will be directly benefited from its implementation," said the official, who did not wish to be Insurance Amendment Bill seeks to raise the cap on foreign investment in the insurance sector to 100% from the existing 74%.The draft bill was put out for stakeholder comments as another step to rein in several digital loan apps for unregulated lending and complaints about their predatory recovery practices. The new bill, along with the Banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes Bill enacted in 2019, is expected to strengthen and streamline both lending and deposit taking activities in the country and rein in any unregulated firms while plugging the Unregulated Deposits Scheme Bill, the Central Registry of Securitization Asset Reconstruction and Security Interest of India is mandated to create and maintain a central database of deposit takers in year, the government had informed Parliament that Google had suspended or removed more than 2,200 fraudulent loan apps from its Play Store between September 2022 and August official said digital lenders had raised some concerns, which had been addressed. "As long as they are partnering with any regulated entity, including non-banking finance companies or those regulated through the State Money Lenders Act, it is not in violation of the proposed bill," he states would also be aligning their Act with the proposed bill to ensure strict implementation, he said. The government had earlier sought comments till February 2025.
Time of India
14-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Axis Max Life to act on listing after monsoon session, eyes margin stability
Live Events (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel As Axis Max Life gears up for a potential direct listing following amendments to the insurance law, Managing Director and CEO Prashant Tripathy discusses the company's growth strategy, evolving product mix, distribution performance, and regulatory developments in an interview with Shilpy Sinha. Edited Excerpts:We want to benchmark ourselves against the private industry's growth, with a goal to consistently outperform by 300–400 basis points. I would not read too much into April's numbers, for us or the industry, as it is typically the smallest month, coming right after a heavy March. Distributors tend to be slower in April. We grew at 24%, which I am pleased with, while the private industry grew around 2%. Things should pick up from here. I expect private industry growth to be in the low teens, and we should grow 300–400 basis points ahead of we have consistently outpaced the private industry, you are right that growth has been slower than in previous years. That said, by the end of the fiscal year, both the industry and we delivered strong numbers, the private sector grew 15%, while we grew around 20%. For two consecutive years, Axis Max Life has posted 18% growth, almost double the private industry's average. Our market share has increased to 9.8%, up 37 basis we are very optimistic. It is not just the regulator-our shareholders, promoters, and management are aligned on this. Given our current structure, where our holding company is listed, collapsing the structure to directly list Axis Max Life is the efficient path. We are working towards it and are hopeful that the Insurance Amendment Bill will enable us to proceed. Once that is approved, we will move immediately. That is what we have conveyed to the regulator. I appreciate the regulator's push for more listed insurers, not only to foster competition, but also for greater transparency and investor confidence. We are ready and would be among the first to go for a direct listing. Our current structure is suboptimal, and a direct listing makes strategic philosophy has always been to work within a target margin range while focusing on growth. We are not looking for high margins of 27–28%. Our target range is 24–25%, and we delivered 24% this year. If we achieve higher margins, our VNB (Value of New Business) growth will exceed sales growth. But 24–25% is the corridor we aim to operate proprietary channels performed very well, growing by 30%. Bancassurance grew by around 13%. With Axis Bank , there were some challenges around product mix, which we have been actively and it's not just us, this is a industry trend. Due to liquidity concerns, banks focused more on building deposits, with fee-based income, including insurance, taking a back seat. But this is changing. Deposit growth is picking up, and we expect renewed focus on fee income. For Axis Bank, we are targeting a rise in contribution to around 15%. Besides Axis Bank, which is a key promoter and strong partner, we have longstanding relationships, like the one with Yes Bank and have also added several new banking partners in recent years. Collectively, these will continue to drive products slowed industry-wide due to strong equity market performance and rising yields. As markets stabilize, we expect a renewed focus on non-PAR products from our side. Last year, ULIPs accounted for 46% of our product mix. This year, we expect non-PAR to increase by 3–4%, with par products also gaining. Our ideal product mix would be- ULIP at 35–40%, non-PAR around 30%, par at 15–20%, with the remainder split between annuity and protection products.
Time of India
27-04-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Bill proposing 100% insurance FDI likely in monsoon session
NEW DELHI: The Insurance Amendment Bill , which proposes 100% FDI in the insurance sector, may be introduced in Parliament in the upcoming session, sources said. The draft bill is ready and will be placed before Cabinet for its approval soon, sources said, adding, after Cabinet nod the Department of Financial Services under the finance ministry would begin the process for introduction of the Bill in Parliament. The ministry hopes to table the Bill in Parliament during the upcoming monsoon session, sources said. Monsoon session usually begins in July.
The Print
27-04-2025
- Business
- The Print
Finmin targets to introduce Insurance Amendment Bill in Parliament during monsoon session
The ministry hopes to table the Bill in Parliament during the upcoming monsoon session, sources said. The draft bill is ready and will be placed before Cabinet for its approval soon, sources said, adding, after Cabinet nod the Department of Financial Services under the finance ministry would begin the process for introduction of the Bill in the Parliament. New Delhi, Apr 27 (PTI) The Insurance Amendment Bill, which proposes 100 per cent FDI in the insurance sector, may be introduced in Parliament in the upcoming monsoon session, sources said. Monsoon session of Parliament usually commences in July. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in this year's Budget speech proposed to raise the foreign investment limit to 100 per cent from existing 74 per cent in the insurance sector as part of new-generation financial sector reforms. 'This enhanced limit will be available for those companies which invest the entire premium in India. The current guardrails and conditionalities associated with foreign investment will be reviewed and simplified,' she had said. The finance ministry has proposed to amend various provisions of the Insurance Act, 1938, including raising foreign direct investment (FDI) in the insurance sector to 100 per cent, reduction in paid-up capital, and provision for composite licence. The bill also proposes agents to be allowed to sell products from multiple insurers breaking away from the existing exclusivity model. As part of comprehensive legislative excercise, the Life Insurance Corporation Act 1956, and the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority Act, 1999 will be amended alongside the Insurance Act, 1938. The amendments to LIC Act proposes to empower its board to take operational decisions like branch expansion and recruitment. The proposed amendment primarily focuses on promoting policyholders' interests, enhancing their financial security, and facilitating the entry of more players into the insurance market leading to economic growth and employment generation. Such changes will help enhance efficiencies of the insurance industry, enabling ease of doing business and enhancing insurance penetration to achieve the goal of 'Insurance for All by 2047'. The Insurance Act, of 1938, serves as the principal Act to provide the legislative framework for insurance in India. It provides the framework for the functioning of insurance businesses and regulates the relationship between an insurer, its policyholders, shareholders and the regulator IRDAI. The entry of more players in the sector would not only push penetration but result in greater job creation across the country. Currently, there are 25 life insurance companies and 34 non-life or general insurance firms in India. These include companies like Agriculture Insurance Company of India Ltd and ECGC Ltd. The FDI limit in the insurance sector was last raised — from 49 per cent to 74 per cent — in 2021. In 2015, the government had hiked the FDI cap in the insurance sector from 26 per cent to 49 per cent. PTI DP HVA This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.
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Business Standard
27-04-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
Finmin plans to introduce Insurance Amendment Bill during monsoon session
The Insurance Amendment Bill, which proposes 100 per cent FDI in the insurance sector, may be introduced in Parliament in the upcoming monsoon session, sources said. The draft bill is ready and will be placed before Cabinet for its approval soon, sources said, adding, after Cabinet nod the Department of Financial Services under the finance ministry would begin the process for introduction of the Bill in the Parliament. The ministry hopes to table the Bill in Parliament during the upcoming monsoon session, sources said. Monsoon session of Parliament usually commences in July. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in this year's Budget speech proposed to raise the foreign investment limit to 100 per cent from existing 74 per cent in the insurance sector as part of new-generation financial sector reforms. "This enhanced limit will be available for those companies which invest the entire premium in India. The current guardrails and conditionalities associated with foreign investment will be reviewed and simplified," she had said. The finance ministry has proposed to amend various provisions of the Insurance Act, 1938, including raising foreign direct investment (FDI) in the insurance sector to 100 per cent, reduction in paid-up capital, and provision for composite licence. The bill also proposes agents to be allowed to sell products from multiple insurers breaking away from the existing exclusivity model. As part of comprehensive legislative excercise, the Life Insurance Corporation Act 1956, and the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority Act, 1999 will be amended alongside the Insurance Act, 1938. The amendments to LIC Act proposes to empower its board to take operational decisions like branch expansion and recruitment. The proposed amendment primarily focuses on promoting policyholders' interests, enhancing their financial security, and facilitating the entry of more players into the insurance market leading to economic growth and employment generation. Such changes will help enhance efficiencies of the insurance industry, enabling ease of doing business and enhancing insurance penetration to achieve the goal of 'Insurance for All by 2047'. The Insurance Act, of 1938, serves as the principal Act to provide the legislative framework for insurance in India. It provides the framework for the functioning of insurance businesses and regulates the relationship between an insurer, its policyholders, shareholders and the regulator IRDAI. The entry of more players in the sector would not only push penetration but result in greater job creation across the country. Currently, there are 25 life insurance companies and 34 non-life or general insurance firms in India. These include companies like Agriculture Insurance Company of India Ltd and ECGC Ltd. The FDI limit in the insurance sector was last raised -- from 49 per cent to 74 per cent -- in 2021. In 2015, the government had hiked the FDI cap in the insurance sector from 26 per cent to 49 per cent.
