India insurance regulator pushes easing of capital requirements

The regulator aims to let smaller players entry into the market.

The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) is pushing for the easing of the INR1b capital requirements for insurance players, a report by the Press Trust of India said.

The regulator said it aims to help smaller and specialised insurers enter the market to increase the insurance penetration and density in the country. The IRDAI suggests that the government instead fix the amount based on the business plans of the prospective company.

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“Like in the banking system, we have microfinance institutions, regional banks, and small finance banks. So, we have all categories of banks then there are non-banking financial companies. In the insurance sector also, we should have different size players to come into the market,” IRDAI chairman Debasish Panda said in an interview.