Press Information Bureau

Government of India

Ministry of Finance

25-November-2016 17:20 IST

Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) issued a Discussion Paper on “Listing of Indian Insurance Companies” on 11th August 2016 in order to seek feedback on mandatory listing of life and non-life insurers.

The Discussion Paper inter-alia suggests the following:

i) Public listing enables the retail and institutional investors to participate in the fortunes of the company.

ii) The mandate for disclosure requirements is significantly higher for listed entities. These include disclosures required to be made to the stock exchanges and through print media;

iii) Public shareholding by both retail and institutional investors means that there is a greater scrutiny of the decision making process, resulting in greater transparency of operations;

iv) The Statutory and regulatory provisions ensure that the interest of minority shareholders are protected.

This was stated by Shri Santosh Kumar Gangwar, Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance in written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today.

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DSM/KA

Mandatory listing of insurers increases investor participation and transparency through enhanced disclosure and minority protections. Mandatory listing of insurers is proposed to enable retail and institutional investor participation and to subject life and non life insurers to stock exchange obligations. The Discussion Paper identifies key operative effects: enhanced investor participation, higher disclosure requirements, greater scrutiny and transparency of decision making, and protection of minority shareholders through statutory and regulatory safeguards.