The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA), on Wednesday said the initial public float guidelines for the insurance industry will be ready by early October.
Speaking on the sidelines of a conference here in Mumbai, J Hari Narayan, chairman, Irda, said, ?We expect the final guidelines to be ready by early October. The guidelines, which will allow both life and non-life insurers to mop up funds from capital markets, will certainly be out before insurance companies complete 10 years of operations. Under the Insurance Act, promoters having 26% stake, could offload their equity after 10 years into operations.?
Currently, most of the 22 private life insurers and 17 non-life players have foreign partners and the Insurance Act caps foreign direct investment at 26 per cent. The Act also restricts private players from entering the capital markets before completing a decade of operations.
In July the Irda the insurance sector regulator, had finalised the IPO norms and had sent to the capital markets regulator Sebi for clearance.
Meanwhile, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee, said on Wednesday that despite some improvements, the Indian insurance sector is still grappling with challenges like bringing the large rural and semi-urban population into the insurance net. Speaking at the Global Insurance Summit, Mukherjee said, ?Insurers have to ensure penetration of health insurance and also that premiums are affordable and the government too is playing a role in this regard.?