Asserting that IRDA’s January 2018 ‘Brokers Regulations’ are discriminatory against domestic investors, the Swadeshi Jagaran Manch (SJM) has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to intervene in the matter and correct the situation.
The insurance regulator IRDA has in its ‘Brokers Regulations’ clearly favoured foreign investors and they are tilted in favour of multinational brokerage houses with much deeper pockets, said Ashwani Mahajan, National Co-convenor, SJM, in a letter to Modi.
“We are seeking your (Prime Minister) direct intervention in this and seeking a level playing field for the domestic and indigenous players”,the letter said.
The main point of anguish is that a domestic investor cannot hold more than 25 per cent stake in an insurance broker, but a foreign investor can go upto 49 per cent. A reading of the regulations clearly points out that the intent of the regulator IRDA is to only promote the interests of foreign investors, said the letter.
“The matter was represented to the regulator, but nothing moved. We hereby request you to intervene and bring resolution to the hardship and unfair business practice faced by the domestic players”, the letter added.