FM Sitharaman raises FDI limit in insurance sector to 74 per cent from 49 per cent

New Delhi, Feb 01: The government on Monday proposed to increase foreign direct investment (FDI) limit in the insurance sector to 74 per cent, a move aimed at attracting overseas players.

In the first paperless Union Budget, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman also said investor charter would be introduced as a right of all financial investors across all financial products.

She proposed to amend the Insurance Act 1938 to "increase the permissible FDI limit from 49 per cent to 74 per cent in insurance companies and allow foreign ownership and control with safeguards".

"Under the new structure, the majority of directors on the board and key management persons would be resident Indians with at least 50 per cent of directors being independent directors and specified percentage of profits being retained as general reserve," she said while presenting the Budget 2021-22.