FORUM FOR REGULATORY COORDINATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF PENSION PRODUCTS TO BE SET UP: UNION BUDGET 2025-26

ROLL OUT OF REVAMPED CENTRAL KYC REGISTRY PLANNED IN 2025

PROCEDURES FOR SPEEDY APPROVAL OF COMPANY MERGERS TO BE RATIONALIZED, PROCESS TO BE MADE SIMPLER

Budget 2025-26  aims to initiate transformative reforms across six domains which will augment our growth potential and global competitiveness during the next five years, the Union Finance & Corporate Affairs Minister said while presenting the Union Budget 2025-26 in the Parliament today.  

One of these domains is Financial Sector which encompasses sectors like Insurance, Pensions, Bilateral Investment Treaties (BIT) and so forth.

FDI in Insurance Sector

Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman informed that the FDI limit for the insurance sector will be raised from 74 to 100 per cent. This enhanced limit will be available for those companies which invest the entire premium in India. The current guardrails and conditionalities associated with foreign investment will be reviewed and simplified.

Pension Sector

A forum for regulatory coordination and development of pension products will be set up, the Union Finance Minister stated.

KYC Simplification

To implement the earlier announcement on simplifying the KYC process, the revamped Central KYC Registry will be rolled out in 2025, Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman said. A streamlined system for periodic updating will also be implemented.

Merger of Companies

The Union Finance Minister also said that requirements and procedures for speedy approval of company mergers will be rationalized. The scope for fast-track mergers will also be widened and the process will be made simpler.

Bilateral Investment Treaties

To encourage sustained foreign investment and in the spirit of ‘first develop India’, the current model BIT will be revamped and made more investor-friendly, the Union Finance Minister added.

Foreign investment cap in insurance expanded to permit full ownership when premiums are invested domestically, prompting regulatory simplification. Increase in foreign equity participation in the insurance sector is announced by raising the FDI limit to permit full foreign ownership for companies that invest the entire premium in India, with existing guardrails and conditionalities to be reviewed and simplified. Complementary reforms include establishing a pension regulatory coordination forum, rolling out a revamped Central KYC Registry with streamlined updating, rationalizing and widening fast-track merger procedures, and revising the model Bilateral Investment Treaty to be more investor-friendly.