Le secrétaire aux services financiers Nagaraju Maddirala announced on Monday that the highly anticipated bill on insurance (amendment) will be probably examined during Parliament's budgetary session.

The bill aims to allow 100% foreign direct investment (FDI) in the sector and composite licenses. This draft was approved by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and will soon be presented to the Cabinet for approval, would also ease current safeguards and conditionalities on the repatriation of dividends and key management personnel from these foreign insurance companies. The bill will amend three laws. These are the Insurance Act, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority Act, and the LIC Act.

The amendment to the LIC law aims to give public insurance companies more autonomy by giving them complete freedom to appoint staff and open branches. The ministry said the proposed amendments were aimed at ensuring the accessibility and affordability of insurance for citizens, promoting the expansion and development of the insurance sector, and streamlining business processes. Insurance penetration in India is only 3.7%, while the insurance density is 95 USD in 2024. The global average of insurance penetration and density was 7% and 889 USD respectively in 2024