Insurance

I. India’s insurance landscape and industry

India’s insurance industry combines a large life-insurance market with general insurance, standalone health insurance and reinsurance businesses. Public-sector institutions operate alongside private Indian insurers and businesses with foreign investment. For insurers, investors, intermediaries and corporate policyholders, this is a market in which commercial opportunity and regulatory obligations need to be assessed together.

In summary: an Indian insurance company must be a public company registered with the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (“IRDAI”) for a specified class of business. Foreign investment of up to 100% is permitted in Indian insurance companies under the automatic route, subject to applicable insurance and foreign-investment conditions, and the minimum paid-up equity capital starts at Rs 100 crore (INR 1 billion) for life, general and standalone health insurers. Distribution, product launches, capital raising and claims disputes are each governed by their own regulatory requirements, which are summarised below.

We take you through:

• A snapshot of the Indian insurance market, the legal and regulatory architecture and the 2025-26 reforms.
• Policyholder protection and disputes, and the separate framework for insurance in an International Financial Services Centre.
• Foreign investment in Indian insurance companies, who can set up an insurer, the capital requirements and how IRDAI registration proceeds.
• The classes of insurance company and how insurance distribution is regulated.
• FAQ on the most commonly asked questions.
• Finally, how Sarthak may assist insurers, investors, intermediaries and corporate policyholders.

II. Market structure and participants

Life insurance includes protection, savings, pension and annuity products. Life insurers may also offer individual and group health insurance on a benefit basis: a fixed contractual payout on a specified insured event, rather than reimbursement of actual medical bills. General and standalone health insurers may offer both indemnity-based and benefit-based health products. General insurance includes all categories of insurance other than life insurance. Reinsurers assume part of the risk written by insurers, providing them with business capacity. Distribution extends across agents, banks, brokers, corporate agents, web aggregators and other permitted channels. The underwriting and distribution roles have different regulatory requirements.

III. Growth, penetration and the protection gap

The sector collected approximately Rs 11.93 lakh crore (INR 11.93 trillion) in premiums in FY 2024-25, according to the Government of India’s April 2026 sector overview. IRDAI’s Annual Report 2024-25 records life-insurance premium income of Rs 8.86 lakh crore (INR 8.86 trillion), up 6.73% from the previous year. Health accounted for about 41% of non-life gross domestic premium in the government overview, making it the largest non-life business line. These figures describe reported performance, not a forecast.

Insurance penetration was 3.7% in FY 2024-25: 2.7% for life and 1.0% for non-life insurance. Penetration measures premium income as a share of GDP; it does not measure the proportion of people who hold a policy or have adequate cover. Insurance density, or premium per person, was US$97. The industry’s scale therefore needs to be read alongside the continuing need for wider and more adequate protection.

IV. Recent reforms and business implications

The Sabka Bima Sabki Raksha (Amendment of Insurance Laws) Act, 2025 (“2025 Amendment Act”) and subsequent implementation measures have materially altered the investment and operating framework. The ordinary Indian insurance-company framework now permits up to 100% foreign investment under the automatic route, subject to applicable insurance and foreign-investment conditions. The amendment has also reduced the statutory net-owned-fund requirement for eligible foreign reinsurers and introduced continuing registration for covered intermediaries. Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India’s (“IRDAI”) suit of regulations notified in 2024, together with subsequent amendments and implementation measures, shape the regulatory framework governing insurer registration, capital structure, corporate governance, insurance products, reinsurance, policyholder protection and related operations.

For market entrants and existing businesses, the practical questions are which activities the proposed entity may undertake, what capital and approvals are needed, how products may be distributed, and which entities and personnel bear ongoing compliance responsibility. The legal and regulatory architecture below provides the starting point.

V. Legal and regulatory architecture of insurance in India

Layer	Main instruments or institutions	What it governs
Insurance business	Insurance Act, 1938, as amended, including the Sabka Bima Sabki Raksha (Amendment of Insurance Laws) Act, 2025	Registration, classes of insurance business, capital, ownership/transfer, investments, solvency, insurance conduct and enforcement.
Regulatory authority	Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority Act, 1999; IRDAI	IRDAI’s statutory functions, rule-making/regulatory powers, supervision and policyholder protection.
Government rules and investment	Applicable insurance rules and regulations; Indian Insurance Companies (Foreign Investment) Rules, 2015 as amended; the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (“FEMA”) and its operative rules and regulations	Foreign participation, ownership conditions and cross-border investment/reporting.
Special institutions	Life Insurance Corporation Act, 1956; General Insurance Business (Nationalisation) Act, 1972	Separate statutory frameworks for the institutions and matters they cover.
Related business law	Companies Act, 2013; applicable Reserve Bank of India (“RBI”), Securities and Exchange Board of India (“SEBI”), tax, competition, anti-money-laundering and data-protection rules	Corporate actions, financing, treasury, securities, tax and related operational duties according to the facts.
Claims and disputes	Policy contract, applicable substantive law, Consumer Protection Act, 2019 and Insurance Ombudsman Rules, 2017	Coverage, complaint routes and adjudication; forum and remedy depend on eligibility and jurisdiction.

An insurance approval does not displace the applicability of other laws and regulatory requirements. A proposed investment, for instance a non-convertible debenture (“NCD”) issue, bank distribution arrangement or a cross-border hedge, may engage more than one regulator or regulatory framework.

VI. IRDAI regulations and master circulars

IRDAI is the principal regulator of the insurance business in India. It issues various regulations and master circulars governing insurers, insurance intermediaries, and other regulated entities and activities in the insurance sector. Some of the areas regulated by the IRDAI are as follows:

• Registration, capital structure, share transfers and amalgamation of insurers, including applicable amendments and implementation measures.
• Corporate governance for insurers.
• Actuarial, finance and investment functions, including applicable amendments and implementation.
• Insurance products and the corresponding life, general and health product master circulars and related regulatory requirements.
• Protection of policyholders’ interests, operations and allied matters of insurers.
• Expenses of management, including commission.
• Rural, social-sector and motor third-party obligations.
• Registration and operations of foreign-reinsurer branches and Lloyd’s India, and the reinsurance framework.
• Bima Sugam’s insurance electronic marketplace framework and channel-specific distribution rules.

VII. What changed in 2025-26?

The 2025 Amendment Act materially altered the statutory framework. Section 25 of the 2025 Amendment Act, which amends section 32A of the Insurance Act to restrict common directors and officers between an insurer and another insurer carrying on the same class of business, a bank or an investment company, has not been brought into force as yet. The foreign-investment framework was implemented through the relevant government and FEMA amendments. IRDAI also amended registration, investment/actuarial and intermediary rules in 2026.

Other statutory changes include an increase in the threshold for IRDAI’s prior approval of share transfers from 1% to 5% of paid-up capital; a statutory framework for the transfer or amalgamation of insurance business or specified non-insurance business involving an insurer, subject to IRDAI’s prior approval and the applicable conditions; disgorgement powers for IRDAI and penalties recast on a per-day basis; and a  creation of Policyholders’ Education and Protection Fund under the amended IRDA Act. The amendment also removes the statutory minimum paid-up capital requirement of INR 100 crores (INR 1 billion) applicable to insurance co-operative societies. The amended definition of “insurance co-operative society” no longer contains the earlier INR 100 crore (INR 1 billion) minimum paid-up capital requirement.

VIII. Policyholder protection and disputes

Policyholder protection and regulatory obligations arise with solicitation and continue through disclosure, policy issuance, servicing, claims and complaints. Businesses should review proposal forms, sales material, consent, exclusions, grievance processes and claim communications together.

An insurer’s grievance process, the Insurance Ombudsman, consumer commissions, civil courts and any applicable arbitration mechanism have different eligibility and jurisdiction rules. They are not interchangeable or cumulative options in every case. The Ombudsman route is subject to its rules, including claim/complaint eligibility and monetary limits; litigation strategy requires a separate forum review.

IX. IFSC insurance is a separate framework

Insurance offices and intermediaries in an International Financial Services Centre (“IFSC”), including GIFT IFSC, operate under the International Financial Services Centres Authority (“IFSCA”) framework and its applicable regulations, directions and permitted business activities. An IFSC registration is not an unrestricted substitute for a mainland IRDAI license where the proposed activity falls within the regulatory jurisdiction of IRDAI.

X. Foreign investment in Indian insurance companies

Indian insurance companies may receive foreign investment of up to 100% under the automatic route, in accordance with the 2025 insurance-law amendments and the 2026 implementation measures, subject to applicable insurance-sector, foreign investment and FEMA conditions. “Automatic route” does not remove the insurer registration requirement, applicable approvals or compliance requirements in relation to changes in shareholding or control, FEMA reporting or investor-specific restrictions. LIC has a separate 20% foreign-investment limit and should not be grouped into the ordinary insurer rule.

For an Indian insurance company with foreign investment, at least one among the Chairperson, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer must be a resident Indian citizen under the revised foreign-investment conditions. Other company-law and IRDAI governance obligations still apply. The earlier requirement that a majority of directors and key management persons be resident Indian citizens no longer applies.

For the wider foreign investment framework, including entry routes, sectoral caps and the structures available to a foreign investor (subsidiary, joint venture, limited liability partnership, branch, liaison and project office), please see our guide, Doing Business in India. The IRDAI registration and capital requirements that apply to a proposed insurer are explained in the sections that follow.

XI. Who can set up an insurance company in India?

The entity and the licence are separate requirements

The ordinary company route is an Indian insurance company formed and registered as a public company under the Companies Act, 2013, with the sole purpose of carrying on the permitted class of insurance business. A founder cannot commence underwriting simply by incorporating a company or using the word “insurance” in its name. IRDAI registration and the applicable capital, governance and operational requirements must also be met.

The law also recognises insurance cooperative societies and statutory bodies under their applicable frameworks. Eligible foreign reinsurers can establish registered Indian branches through the separate foreign-reinsurance regime. An overseas insurer’s branch is not a general shortcut to writing Indian retail life, motor or health insurance.

Promoters and investors

Promoters and investors must satisfy the applicable eligibility, financial-strength, source-of-funds and fit-and-proper requirements. IRDAI reviews the ownership structure, capacity to support the business, management and business plan, not only the amount initially invested.

Capital and financial resources

Business model	General capital starting point	Important distinction
Indian life insurer	Rs 100 crore (INR 1 billion) minimum paid-up equity capital	Capital must meet the statutory calculation, including treatment of preliminary expenses; continuing solvency and business funding are separate duties.
Indian general insurer	Rs 100 crore (INR 1 billion) minimum paid-up equity capital	Registration is class-specific; incorporation and initial capital are not enough to launch every product.
Indian standalone health insurer	Rs 100 crore (INR 1 billion) minimum paid-up equity capital	Exclusively health-insurance business under the applicable class and product rules.
Indian insurer carrying on exclusively reinsurance	Rs 200 crore (INR 2 billion) minimum paid-up equity capital	Reinsurance assumes risks from insurers, rather than serving as an ordinary retail insurance distribution licence.
Eligible foreign reinsurer seeking Indian branch registration	Rs 1,000 crore (INR 10 billion) minimum net owned fund under the amended Act	This is the foreign entity’s net-owned-fund test, not the branch’s assigned capital. Assigned capital, deposits and operational conditions require a separate check.

These figures serve as baseline statutory requirements rather than a complete setup budget or a guarantee of registration. Every proposed business must independently evaluate its capital adequacy, ongoing solvency obligations, permitted legal structures, and any special statutory categories. Notably, the Rs 1,000 crore (INR 10 billion) foreign-reinsurer net-owned-fund threshold under the amended act replaces the previous Rs 5,000 crore (INR 50 billion) requirement.

XII. How registration proceeds

Process (indicative):

• Identify the class of business, proposed structure and applicable promoter/investor route.
• Review ownership, financial resources, business projections, governance, management and actuarial capacity.
• Complete the applicable IRDAI requisition process and, where applicable, incorporation steps; submit the requisition application (R1) and, following the applicable process, the application for registration (R2), together with the prescribed information and supporting documents.
• Address regulatory queries and demonstrate the required capital, systems, infrastructure, policyholder-service and compliance readiness.
• Obtain the certificate of registration (R3) and satisfy its conditions, product requirements and commencement obligations before conducting the relevant business.

The 2024 registration regulations must be read with their 2026 amendments and the applicable current forms/directions. Foreign-reinsurance branches follow a separate registration process. Registration depends on IRDAI’s assessment, and neither the timelines nor the outcome of an application can be assured.

Timeline: Timing depends on the completeness of the requisition (R1) and registration (R2) applications, IRDAI’s queries, the promoter and ownership review, and the readiness of capital, systems and personnel before the certificate of registration (R3) is issued. No fixed period is assured.

Approvals required: IRDAI registration (R3) for the relevant class of business is required before that business is conducted. Foreign-investment, FEMA, Companies Act and other approvals or filings applicable to the promoters and the proposed structure must also be addressed; see the sections on foreign investment and capital above, and also the Doing Business in India section of our website.

XIII. What kinds of insurance companies are there?

There are four principal classes expressly identified in the amended Insurance Act: life, general, health and reinsurance, with provision for such class or classes to be notified by the Central Government in consultation with IRDAI. These are classes of business, not a count of companies in the market.

Life insurance companies

Life insurers cover life-related contingencies and offer permitted protection, savings, annuity and pension products. They can also undertake benefit-based health insurance business (fixed payout upon a specified event)  within IRDAI’s product rules. The IRDAI (Insurance Products) Regulations, 2024 expressly permits life insurers to offer individual and group health products on a benefit basis, but prohibits individual or group indemnity-based health products. A critical-illness or hospital-cash benefit is therefore different from a policy reimbursing actual hospital bills. Product design, disclosures and actuarial requirements still apply.

General insurance companies

General insurers underwrite permitted non-life risks such as motor, property, fire, marine, liability and other general-insurance lines. They may also offer health insurance within the applicable product framework. A commercial policy’s coverage depends on its wording, exclusions, limits, deductibles and disclosure requirements.

Standalone health insurance companies

Standalone health insurers operate exclusively in the health-insurance class. Section 2(6C) of the Insurance Act, 1938, as amended in 2025, defines health insurance business to include contracts providing sickness benefits or payment of medical and health expenses, and expressly includes specified personal accident and travel insurance business. That definition does not, by itself, give every insurer permission to offer every such product. Life insurers may offer benefit-based health products; general and health insurers may offer indemnity and/or benefit products. Schedule III, clause 3.4 of the 2024 Product Regulations reserves domestic and overseas travel insurance policies to general and health insurers.

Reinsurance companies, foreign branches and Lloyd’s India

Reinsurers assume insurance risks from other insurers. Indian reinsurers, registered foreign-reinsurer branches and Lloyd’s India operate through distinct legal and regulatory structures. Reinsurance arrangements are subject to the applicable reinsurance framework, including applicable requirements relating to placement, retention, obligatory cessation and reporting, not merely the parties’ commercial agreement.

Public/private ownership, government ownership and specialist business lines describe additional features of an insurer; they are not substitutes for its authorised class. An insurance broker, corporate agent or insurance web aggregator distributes or arranges insurance or facilitates insurance distribution, as applicable, but does not become the risk-bearing insurer.

XIV. How is insurance distribution regulated?

Distribution covers soliciting, arranging and servicing insurance. The right model depends on the activities actually performed, not whether the business calls itself a technology platform, adviser, referral partner or marketplace. Insurers may sell directly; third-party distribution must fit the relevant appointment or registration or other specifically permitted framework.

Channel	Regulatory position	Key legal questions
Individual insurance agent	Appointed by an insurer under the IRDAI (Appointment of Insurance Agents) Regulations, 2016.	Eligibility, training/examination, permitted insurer appointments, conduct and servicing. An individual agent does not hold a broker registration.
Corporate agent	Entity registered under the IRDAI (Registration of Corporate Agents) Regulations, 2015, as amended, including by the IRDAI (Insurance Intermediaries) (amendment) Regulations, 2026.	Approved business category, insurer arrangements, principal officer and specified persons, remuneration, records and customer conduct. Registration is now continuing in nature, subject to payment of the applicable annual fee and suspension/cancellation provisions.
Insurance broker	Registered direct, reinsurance or composite broker under the IRDAI (Insurance Brokers) Regulations, 2018, as amended including by the 2026 intermediary amendments.	Permitted client-facing insurance/reinsurance services, qualified personnel, professional obligations and limits of the registration. The scope differs materially between direct reinsurance and composite brokers.
Insurance web aggregator	Registered under the IRDAI (Insurance Web Aggregators) Regulations, 2017, as amended including by the 2026 amendments.	Permitted comparison, lead generation, distance marketing and solicitation activities; website content, disclosures and agreements. Its role remains limited to activities permitted under the web aggregator framework and does not amount to a general insurance distribution license.
Point of Sales Person (POSP)	Trained and assessed individual engaged under the applicable POSP framework through an authorised insurer or intermediary.	Only eligible products and permitted activities; the engaging insurer/ intermediary’s responsibility, records and product restrictions. POSP status is not an unrestricted insurance business licence.
Bancassurance	A bank distribution arrangement under the relevant insurance channel, commonly corporate agency or, where permitted broking, together with applicable RBI requirements.	Bank and insurer roles, customer choice, sales practices, approved personnel, conflicts, remuneration and responsibility for servicing. The bank’s insurance-distribution model must comply with both the applicable IRDAI framework and RBI requirements.
Other approved models	Insurance marketing firms, common service centres and other specifically regulated channels.	Category-specific permissions, product/activity limits and operating conditions; not a catch-all exemption from registration or other applicable authorization requirements.

Third-party administrators, surveyors, and loss assessors and insurance repositories perform separately regulated service functions. Their authorisations do not automatically allow unrestricted selling or underwriting.

Corporate agent arrangements with multiple insurers

The permitted arrangements depend on the registration category. IRDAI’s current corporate-agent framework permits arrangements with up to nine insurers in the relevant life, general or health line, with composite-category arrangements subject to the aggregate ceiling of insurers and applicable category rules. The arrangement must still satisfy the operative regulations; the earlier three-insurer limit no longer applies.

Online sales and bancassurance need the right legal model

A website, app or bank partnership does not itself create insurance distribution authority. Determine who advises, solicits, compares, receives leads, handles customer information and services the policy. Then align the licence, contracts, authorised personnel, disclosures, digital process and remuneration with that activity.

A corporate agent, broker and web aggregator have different roles. A platform should not take broader permissions from another category simply because its interface looks similar.

Commission, marketing and conduct

Distribution agreements should be reviewed against the insurer’s commission policy and the current expenses-of-management and commission framework. Calling a payment a “marketing fee” or “service fee” does not by itself settle whether it is permitted. Customer communications, advertisements, conflicts, records, servicing, outsourcing and anti-rebating restrictions must also be addressed.

Continuing registration and ongoing compliance

The 2025-26 reforms moved insurance intermediaries to a continuing registration model, subject to annual fees and ongoing conditions, with transitional steps for existing certificates. The July 2026 amendments implement this in the relevant intermediary regulations. Continuing registration does not remove annual fees, supervision, suspension/cancellation risk or transition requirements. Existing corporate agents and insurance brokers holding three-year certificates must obtain a fresh certificate by 31 January 2027, or by 31 March 2027, on payment of an additional fee.

Managing general agents (MGAs) are recognised within the amended statutory framework for insurance intermediaries. For IFSC operations, IFSCA has separately notified the International Financial Services Centres Authority (Managing General Agents) Regulations, 2026, which provide a specific framework for MGAs registered in an IFSC and permit delegated authority from foreign insurers for specified functions, including solicitation, underwriting risks and/or settlement of claims. The IFSC MGA framework should not be treated as authority to undertake the same activities in the mainland outside the applicable IRDAI framework.

Frequently Asked Questions

XVI. How Sarthak helps insurers, investors and intermediaries?

Our work spans regulatory entry and compliance, corporate transactions, distribution, products, investment and treasury matters, and insurance-related disputes. Our Managing Partner Abhishek Tripathi has engaged with the insurance regulator on licensing and other regulatory matters. He has also taught insurance law as visiting faculty at the National Law School of India University, Bangalore, and Amity Law School, New Delhi, and has written on insurance law and regulation.

Sarthak may help clients in the following ways:

Regulatory registration, licensing and supervision

• Advise on insurer licensing and the applicable IRDAI registration process, ownership and capital framework.
• Assist with legal structuring, application documents, regulatory queries and ongoing obligations.
• Review compliance with insurance conduct, advertisement, investment and intermediary requirements.
• Assist with responses to IRDAI queries and notices, including those arising from regulatory audits or inspections.

IRDAI decides applications and supervisory outcomes. Legal assistance is not an assurance of registration or an expedited approval.

Insurance joint ventures and corporate transactions

• Advise on insurance joint-venture and corporate structures, incorporation and IRDAI approval requirements.
• Prepare and review shareholder and joint-venture documentation, governance rights and ownership arrangements.
• Align investment and corporate actions with insurance shareholding, foreign-investment and regulatory requirements.

Corporate agency, bancassurance and other distribution arrangements

• Advise insurers on corporate-agency arrangements, including banking and financial-services partnerships.
• Review arrangements with brokers and other distribution channels, allocating solicitation, servicing and compliance responsibilities.
• Advise on insurance marketing and remuneration structures within the applicable rules.
• Assist with distribution-contract drafting and review alongside the relevant registration and customer-protection requirements.

Insurance aggregation businesses and start-ups

• Advise on the applicable regime for an insurance aggregation business and its proposed activities.
• Assist with corporate structuring and general business agreements.
• Review whether comparison, leads, solicitation, distance marketing or servicing require a particular intermediary model.

Technology does not remove insurance licensing or conduct requirements. A legal model should be settled before building the commercial process around it.

Product review and launch compliance

• Advise on product review, wording and regulatory requirements for launches.
• Assist with the applicable product filing, approval and product management processes, File and Use or Use and File process and product-management requirements.
• Review relevant disclosures, advertisements and distribution terms alongside product documentation.

The applicable route depends on the class and product. The applicable product approval or filing process depends on the nature of the product and the relevant regulatory framework. Actuarial pricing and certifications remain with the responsible qualified professionals.

Capital raising and non-convertible debentures

• Advise insurance companies on capital raising, including non-convertible debentures (NCDs).
• Review the applicable IRDAI capital framework and SEBI requirements where relevant to the issue or listing.
• Assist with legal documentation and regulatory alignment for the proposed instrument.

An insurer’s debt issue cannot be assessed solely as an ordinary companies act financing. Instrument eligibility, capital treatment and listing or securities requirements must be checked for the structure.

Investments, derivatives and treasury documentation

• Advise on insurer investment and treasury matters, including the applicable IRDAI investment framework and RBI hedging directions.
• Assist with derivatives documentation, including the 2002 ISDA Master Agreement, Schedules and 2016 Credit Support Annexes for Variation Margin.
• Advise on interest-rate and duration hedges, including forward rate agreements and bond forwards referencing Indian Central and State Government Securities, and physically settled INR bond forwards where permitted.
• Review close-out netting enforceability, FEMA issues and cross-border hedging arrangements.
• Where foreign bank counterparties are involved, advise on relevant cross-border margin and risk-mitigation documentation requirements.

The permitted transaction, counterparty, purpose and documentation must be tested against the applicable rules. Signing an ISDA agreement is not, by itself, regulatory permission to transact.

Group insurance, marketing and remuneration reviews

• Review and conduct legal compliance audits of group insurance arrangements and products.
• Examine insurance marketing and remuneration structures against the relevant framework.
• Identify inconsistencies between the commercial arrangement, product terms and regulatory requirements.

These are legal/regulatory reviews, not actuarial, financial or statutory assurance audits.

Claims, coverage and consumer disputes

• Advise on insurance-related disputes, including denial or repudiation of claims and questions of coverage.
• Assist from the notice and response stage through representation before the relevant consumer dispute redressal fora.
• Review policy wording, facts, documents and jurisdiction before settling the response or dispute strategy.

No claim outcome is assured. The remedy depends on the policy, evidence, law and forum.

Talk to our Insurance team

For insurance regulatory, transactional, treasury or dispute-related enquiries, please write to us at insurance@sarthaklaw.com.

In your initial message, identify the entity or proposed business, the regulatory category and the issue or transaction. Please do not send confidential documents until a suitable engagement and secure sharing arrangement are agreed. An enquiry does not itself create a lawyer-client relationship; services are subject to conflict checks and an agreed scope.

Key Indian government and public-sector websites for insurance

• Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) – https://irdai.gov.in/ – IRDAI regulations, master circulars and circulars, and regulatory information on insurers and intermediaries.
• Council for Insurance Ombudsmen (CIO) – https://www.cioins.co.in/ – Insurance Ombudsman offices, rules and online complaint registration.
• International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) – https://ifsca.gov.in/ – Regulations and directions for insurance offices and intermediaries in an IFSC, including GIFT IFSC.
• Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) – https://dpiit.gov.in/foreign-direct-investment/foreign-direct-investment-policy – FDI policy, sectoral rules and policy press notes.
• Reserve Bank of India (RBI) – https://www.rbi.org.in/ – FEMA directions, foreign-investment reporting and related directions.
• Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) – https://www.sebi.gov.in/ – Securities-market regulation relevant to debt issues, listings and investments.
• Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) – https://www.mca.gov.in/ – Company incorporation, company-law rules and e-filings.
• e-Gazette of India – https://egazette.gov.in/ – Published legal text of Acts, rules and notifications, including the 2025 Amendment Act.

Other regulators and authorities may also be relevant, depending on the activity and structure.

General information notice

This page provides general information, not legal, tax, actuarial or investment advice. Requirements depend on the entity, class, ownership, product, distribution model and transaction and the applicable legal and regulatory framework may also change from time to time. Read the operative statute, regulations, amendments and directions together and obtain advice on the facts before acting.

 

Last reviewed: 4 October 2026

Recent insights