From IIO To Intermediary: The IFSCA’s Proposed MGA Framework For GIFT City

Introduction

In our previous article on Managing General Agents (“MGAs”) in India, which can be accessed here, we noted that the statutory recognition of MGAs under the Sabka Bima Sabki Raksha (Amendment of Insurance Laws) Act 2025 (“2025 Amendment”) raised important questions for the GIFT City framework. First, whether the Central Government would issue a notification under §2CA of the Amendment Act to create a carve-out for MGAs operating in the GIFT City, and second, whether the International Financial Services Centres Authority (“IFSCA”) would reconsider the regulatory positioning of MGAs as IFSC Insurance Offices (“IIOs”) and set up a standalone regime.

Against this backdrop, and with the 2025 Amendment having now come into force, there have been further regulatory developments under the GIFT City framework. On 13 March 2026, the IFSCA released a draft proposing the IFSCA (Managing General Agents) Regulations 2026 (“Draft MGA Regulations”) for stakeholder comments. The Draft