Jio Financial Services and Munich-based Allianz Group have signed a binding agreement to establish a 50:50 joint venture for general and health insurance in India, building on an earlier reinsurance partnership.
SBI General Insurance aims to achieve a 10 per cent market share among private and standalone health insurers within approximately five years, up from its current 7.17 per cent, said Naveen Chandra Jha, managing director and chief executive officer, SBI General Insurance.
Shares of Indian life insurance companies, particularly SBI Life Insurance and Canara HSBC Life Insurance, saw significant declines after the Department of Financial Services (DFS) secretary, M Nagaraju, stated that banks are being asked to avoid exclusive tie-ups with their own insurance subsidiaries and instead remain neutral.
Escalating geopolitical tensions in West Asia are prompting investors with exposure to Dubai's real estate market to reassess their portfolios. And, in this rejig, India is emerging as a stable destination for capital investment and long-term growth.
The increasing use of models, algorithms, and code across the financial industry is reshaping how outcomes are generated. However, their limitations, such as explainability, embedded bias, and model drift may not be immediately apparent and may emerge only as these technologies gain scale, warns RBI deputy governor Shirish Chandra Murmu.
The insurance industry is trying to get to grips with provisions in the proposed Insurance Amendment Bill, which gives additional powers to the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai), while there is ambiguity in the very definition of the insurance business, according to industry experts.
Fino Payments Bank asserts its compliance with GST regulations following the arrest of its MD and CEO, Rishi Gupta, by the Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI). The bank clarifies that the investigation pertains to program managers associated with multiple banks and not the bank's own GST compliance.
Sebi is working with other regulators to expand the CAS framework.
Dubai's core promise -- that it is an oasis untouched by regional storms -- has been tested in full public view. The coming months will show whether investors view the attacks as a short-lived disruption or a deeper signal of lasting risk, points out Asif Ullah Khan.
'LIC will reduce but not fully exit its stake in IDBI Bank, which remains an important bancassurance partner,' says LIC of India' MD and CEO R Doraiswamy.
The Union Cabinet on Friday approved 100 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) in the insurance sector, a move that was welcomed by industry as it would help attract more capital and global expertise, while boosting insurance coverage in the country. A bill to amend the insurance law is likely to be tabled on Monday in Parliament, whose winter session is slated to conclude on December 19.
'This is not a case of tax evasion but the result of long-standing ambiguities in GST rules and unawareness.'
The committee formed under the Life Insurance Council to review the commission structure in the life insurance sector has recommended capping distributor commissions or deferring them to ease acquisition costs. The recommendations will be sent to the insurance regulator -- Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai).
India is growing fast, but to keep growing strong, the government must make more things at home, create jobs, and spend money wisely, suggests Rajiv Memani, regional managing partner, Africa-India Region, EY.
'We serve more than 1.2 billion trips annually and have over 1.5 million active earners each month using the platform.'
India's market regulator is moving ahead to include real estate investment trusts (Reits) in benchmark indices in a phased manner, Sebi chief Tuhin Kanta Pandey said, while asserting that the regulator was working to strengthen the link between infrastructure building and the markets.
Creditors took a haircut of around 67 per cent on their admitted claims on the realisation made till September 2025 under the corporate insolvency resolution process (CIRP) of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), the latest data released by the insolvency regulator showed.
The idea is to establish a robust and forward-looking legal framework that addresses the financial stress of power distribution companies, which are facing losses of over 6.9 trillion, while curbing high industrial tariffs that, according to the government, have affected competitiveness, constrained economic growth, and slowed the transition to clean energy.
Where was the Board when a predictable regulatory change brought the country's largest airline to its knees? asks Dr Sudhir Bisht.
Mint Road, on December 21, 2023, flagged the role of self-regulatory organisations (SROs) in strengthening the compliance culture in regulated entities (REs) and providing a consultative platform for policymaking. It also decided to issue an omnibus framework for SROs.
Following Axis Max Life Insurance's second-quarter results for 2025-26, Sumit Madan, managing director and chief executive officer of the company, speaks to Aathira Varier and Subrata Panda/Business Standard about growth aspirations, strategies to offset the impact of the input tax credit (ITC) withdrawal, reverse merger plans, and more.
SC-appointed Justice Rao recommends striking balance between AIFF autonomy and bidders' interests
'The directives to enhance last-mile funding, consider revival funds, and systemic reforms across the sector are expected to revive stalled projects, improve accountability, and accelerate the delivery of affordable and mid-income housing.'
The exemption of individual life and health insurance premiums from the Goods and Services Tax (GST) enables the insurance industry to make products affordable and attractive, said Ajay Seth, chairman of Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai) at the Business Standard BFSI Insight Summit 2025.
'Other sectors that manage the savings pools of Indians are giving tough competition to life insurance companies.'
Canadian firm Manulife and Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), an Indian automaker with interests in financial services, have signed an agreement to form a 50:50 life insurance joint venture (JV) with a total capital commitment of up to Rs 3,600 crore each totalling Rs 7,200 crore.
Tata Sons, now debt-free, has asked the RBI to drop its 'upper-layer NBFC' tag and allow it to stay private.
Private-sector lender Federal Bank on Friday announced that New York-based Blackstone will invest Rs 6,196.51 crore in the bank through its affiliate Asia II Topco XIII Pte Ltd via a preferential issue on a private placement basis.
But selectively, with regulatory scrutiny and special approval, points out Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
'The government is putting insurance in the same category as food, which is essential for life.' 'Now this is an opportunity for the sector to focus on the consumer.'
Eyewear retailer Lenskart plans to add 450 stores in the current financial year, its fastest expansion in three years, as the company prepares for a public listing that could value it at up to $10 billion. The addition would take Lenskart's store count to more than 3,150 across 14 countries, representing a 34 per cent rise from the 334 stores opened last year.
'There are cases of suicides, and middle-class families losing their entire family savings.'
'Some of the astounding proposals, if translated into statutory provisions, would be suicidal.' 'This would not be a wonder cure for increasing insurance penetration and only result in mushrooming growth of players like paan kiosks with deleterious consequences.'
Barack Obama on Thursday named Mary Schapiro, head of the securities industry's self-regulatory body, as chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The life and non-life insurance industries are hopeful of a reduction in the goods and services tax (GST) on health and life insurance premiums, after Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his speech on Friday, announced GST relaxations aimed at providing relief to ordinary citizens, farmers, the middle class, and the small and medium enterprises (MSME) sector.
The Indian government has introduced a bill in the Lok Sabha to ban online games played with money, aiming to curb addiction, money laundering, and financial fraud. The bill also targets advertisements and financial transactions related to such games.
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has fined Citigroup $650,000 for violation of disclosure and supervisory norms involving a stock borrow programme.
The $6,00,000 fine by Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, which oversees broker dealers, comes after the US authorities hardened their stance on offshore tax operations with a series of actions in the past few months.
In 2025 alone, at least 50 suicides linked to online gambling losses have been reported across India. According to FIRs, the victims were addicted to betting, largely driven by cricket, rummy and poker.
'My job is to provide people with a bouquet of options they can choose from.'
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