FDI In Insurance Under The Automatic Route: Update From The Budget 2016-17

Following the Insurance Laws (Amendment) Act 2015 (Amendment Act), the Indian insurance industry has witnessed the introduction of several new regulations and modification to existing guidance, with several more changes on the anvil.

The most significant change under the Amendment Act was the increase in the foreign investment limits for Insurers and insurance intermediaries from 26% to 49% of the paid-up share capital. The Amendment Act also required that all companies operating in the Indian insurance sector were required to be "Indian owned and controlled". In order to implement the framework for increasing the foreign investment limits, the following were introduced in quick succession: