It is time for India to allow 100% foreign direct investment (FDI) in insurance, the head of the country's insurance regulator said at the Business Standard newspaper's BFSI summit on Friday.
To stick to India's target of "insurance for all by 2047, we need a lot of capital...we need a lot of new entities to come in, there may be some consolidation happening," Debasish Panda, chairperson of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) said.
Allowing 100% FDI in the insurance sector will attract more investments into the country, he said. Currently, India allows 74% FDI.
Panda also said a unified license for insurers is in the works.
The Indian government has taken up recommendations made by the IRDAI, including a unified license for insurance companies.
A unified license would allow insurance companies to operate in different segments of the sector. Currently, life insurance companies cannot sell products such as health insurance, while general insurers are allowed to sell products ranging from health to marine.
"As and when the law is amended it will open the way for a composite license," Panda said.
