Govt backs IRDA on ULIPs row
PTI
NEW DELHI, JUNE 19
Clearly backing insurance regulator IRDA in its turf war with SEBI, the government has issued an ordinance that clarified that life insurance business will include ULIPs or any such instruments.
President Pratibha Patil issued the ordinance late last night amending the RBI Act, Insurance Act, SEBI Act and Securities Contracts Regulation Act.
By way of an explanation, the Ordinance clarified that life insurance business shall include any Unit Linked Policy or scrips or any such instruments.
“This would set at rest all the issues regarding ULIPs between two financial regulators i.e. Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and Insurance Regulatory and Development
Authority (IRDA)”, the Finance Ministry said in a statement.
The ordinance attempts to bring to an end, the two-month long battle between IRDA and capital market regulator SEBI, which contended that ULIPs came under its regulatory jurisdiction.
IRDA strongly opposed it and the issue reached the Supreme Court. ULIPs are a hybrid instrument that combine both insurance and investment.
The government, according to the statement, has also constituted a high-level committee chaired by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee which will sort out all issues of jurisdiction regarding hybrid products.
Govt backs IRDA on ULIPs row
NEW DELHI, JUNE 19 Clearly backing insurance regulator IRDA in its turf war with SEBI, the government has issued an ordinance that clarified that life insurance business will include ULIPs or any such instruments.
