The Ministry of Finance notified the Draft Indian Insurance Companies (Foreign Investment) (Amendment) Rules, 2021.
“Draft rules to amend the Indian Insurance Companies (Foreign Investment) Rules, 2015, which the Central Government proposes to make in exercise of the powers conferred by section 114 of the Insurance Act, 1938 (4 of 1938), are hereby published for information of all persons likely to be affected thereby, and notice is hereby given that the said draft rules will be taken for publication in the Gazette of India after the expiry of a period of fifteen days from the date on which they are published,” the notification said.
As per the new Rules the word Resident Indian Citizen shall have the meaning assigned to it in such policy as the Central Government may make from time to time on foreign direct investment.
The Total Foreign Investment in an Indian Insurance Company shall mean the sum total of direct and indirect foreign investment by Foreign Investors in such company calculated in accordance with the manner as provided under regulations made by the Authority with regard to registration of Indian Insurance Companies.
In rule 2, after the sub-rule (1) so renumbered, the sub-rule shall be inserted, namely “Words and expressions used herein and not defined in these rules, but defined in the Act or in the rules or regulations made thereunder, shall have the same meanings respectively assigned to them in the Act or in the rules or regulations.”
In an Indian Insurance Company having foreign investment, a majority of its directors, a majority of its Key Management Persons, and at least one among the chairperson of its Board, its managing director and its Chief Executive Officer, shall be Resident Indian Citizens.
For the purposes of this rule, the expression “Key Management Person” shall have the same meaning as assigned to it in guidelines made by the Authority on corporate governance for insurers in India.
Every Indian Insurance Company having foreign investment, existing on or before the date of commencement of the Indian Insurance Companies (Foreign Investment) (Amendment) Rules, 2021, shall within one year from such commencement comply with the requirements of the provisions of sub-rule (1).
In an Indian Insurance Company having foreign investment exceeding 49 per cent., for a financial year for which dividend is paid on equity shares and for which at any time the solvency margin is less than 1.2 times the control level of solvency, not less than fifty per cent. of the net profit for the financial year shall be retained in general reserve; and not less than fifty per cent. of its directors shall be independent directors, unless the chairperson of its Board is an independent director, in which case at least one-third of its Board shall comprise of independent directors.
In the principal rules, in rule 5, for the word “forty-nine”, the word “seventy-four” shall be substituted.
In the principal rules, in rule 8, for the term “FEMA”, the words, figures and brackets “Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (42 of 1999)” shall be substituted.
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