The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI), at its 135th Authority Meeting held on 30 March 2026, approved several key regulatory and governance decisions. The Authority designated Life Insurance Corporation of India, The New India Assurance Co. Ltd., and General Insurance Corporation of India as Domestic Systemically Important Insurers (D-SIIs) for FY 2025-26 based on the annual assessment. It also approved amendments to the IRDAI (Actuarial, Finance and Investment Functions of Insurers) Regulations, 2024 to implement Indian Accounting Standards (Ind AS) for all insurers from 1 April 2026, with transitional arrangements, parallel reporting, and limited one-year forbearance for eligible insurers. The Authority further approved the constitution of the Policyholders’ Education and Protection Fund with an initial corpus grant of ₹800 crore. It authorised Executive Director-level officers to sign Gazette notifications and delegated specified powers under Section 34 of the Insurance Act, 1938 to a panel of two Whole-Time Members for enforcement proceedings.
Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority
MINUTES OF THE 135th
MEETING OF THE AUTHORITY
held on 30th March 2026 at 9:30 am
Present at Headquarters, IRDAI:
Chairman : Shri Ajay Seth
Whole-time Member : Shri Rajay Kumar Sinha
Whole-time Member : Shri Deepak Sood
Whole-time Member : Shri Swaminathan S. Iyer Joined Virtually
Part-time Member : CA. Prasanna Kumar D
Also present
Secretary : Smt. B Padmaja
Chief General Manager : Shri A. Ramana Rao
Chief General Manager : Shri Raj Kumar Sharma
Chief General Manager : Shri G. R. Surya Kumar
General Manager : Smt. Latha
Deputy General Manager : Shri Aleem Afaque
The Chairman extended greetings to all members.
Leave of absence was granted to Part-time Member Ms. Shalini Pandit, Joint Secretary, DFS who could not join the meeting.
After ascertaining that the requisite quorum was present, Chairman started the deliberations. The agenda items were taken up for consideration.
2 Identification of Domestic Systemically Important Insurers (D-SIIs)
2.1 It was presented that the annual exercise of the process of identification of D-
SIIs based on the size, global activity, interconnectedness, asset liquidation and substitutability has been carried out. Insurers with the threshold score of 15% based on the data for FY 2024-25 were identified. It was proposed to designate the following insurers as D-SII for FY 2025-26:
1. Life Insurance Corporation of India
2. The New India Assurance Co. Ltd.
3. General Insurance Corporation of India
2.2 The agenda was approved.
3. IRDAI (Actuarial, Finance and Investment Functions of Insurers) (Amendment) Regulations, 2026
3.1. It was presented that Implementation of Ind AS for Insurers is a structural
reform to align financial reporting practices of insurers with globally accepted accounting standards substantially converged with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). With increasing integration of financial markets, growing participation of foreign investors and widespread adoption of IFRS based accounting standards across major jurisdictions, transition to Ind AS is expected to improve global comparability of financial statements of Indian insurers, facilitate more informed assessment of financial performance and risk exposure by investors and analysts. It will enhance access to global capital markets. Improved transparency and standardisation of reporting practices will also support more accurate credit assessment by rating agencies, reinforce investor confidence, strengthen market discipline within the insurance sector supporting the long‑term development and competitiveness.
3.2 . Steps taken by the industry towards preparedness was presented wherein it
was indicated that the insurers had undertaken gap assessments, initiated system upgrades and capacity building. Further, Insurers submitted proforma Ind AS financials enabling assessment of financial impact and validation of reporting capability. Insurers have also undertaken steps to meet the resource requirements in terms of strengthening of skilled resources in actuarial, finance and IT domains. The professional bodies, viz., the Institute of Actuaries of India (IAI) and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) have extended their support to work closely with industry stakeholders to navigate the challenges associated with the implementation of Ind AS.
3.3 The Exposure Draft of IRDAI (Actuarial, Finance and Investment Functions of Insurer), (Amendment) Regulations, 2026 along with Consultation Paper was issued on 3rd March 2026 for stakeholders’ consultations. It was also placed for consultations with the Insurance Advisory Committee in the meeting held on 23rd March 2026. Comments have been received from various stakeholders, including insurers, individuals and professional firms. While some of the insurers have indicated their readiness to implement Ind AS from 1st April 2026, some have suggested for implementation in a phased manner.
3.4 It was presented that considering the benefits of Ind AS adoption, along with industry preparedness and comments received in the consultation process, it is proposed to Implement Ind AS with effect from 1st April 2026 for all insurers along with transitional arrangements including parallel reporting for a period of 2 years or such period as may be specified by the Authority. Steps proposed to be taken to provide required guidance to the insurers for a smooth transition were also presented. It was further proposed that for an Insurer who is unable to prepare and present financial statements in compliance with Ind AS, forbearance may be granted for one year for requests made on or before 30th April, 2026 along with Board-approved action plan detailing monthly preparations for implementation of Ind AS.
3.5 Accordingly, it is proposed to amend the IRDAI (Actuarial, Finance and Investment Functions of Insurers) Regulations, 2024 by inserting Schedule- IIA on Ind AS Finance Functions.
3.6 After deliberations, the agenda was approved.
4. Constitution of the Policyholders’ Education and Protection Fund under Section 16A of the IRDAI Act, 1999, and Grant from the Authority for setting up the Corpus Fund
4.1 It was presented that as per Section 16A of IRDAI Act, 1999 inserted vide section 93 of the Sabka Bima Sabki Raksha (Amendment of Insurance Laws) Act, 2025 (SBSR Act), the Authority has to Constitute and Administer Policyholders’ Education and Protection Fund (PEPF) to be utilized for Education of Policyholders and Protection of interests of the Policyholders. It was further presented that as per the SBSR Act, the corpus of the PEPF shall be built with Grants from the Authority, Central/State Governments, donations from Insurers and other institutions and penalties under Insurance Act/IRDAI Act/Regulations.
4.2 It was proposed to constitute the PEPF as a dedicated corpus to be utilized for policyholder education and awareness. It was further proposed to transfer initial Grant of ₹ 800 crore from the current balance in the IRDAI General Fund to the PEPF and treat the said transfer as part of the revised budget of the Authority for the Financial Year 2025-26. It was presented that the interest income accruing on the corpus balance will be used exclusively for activities related to the Fund’s mandate as may be specified by the Regulations being formulated under the SBSR Act.
4.3 After deliberations, the agenda was approved.
5. Authorisation to Executive Director, IRDAI for signing the Gazette Notification
5.1 It was presented that as per the guidelines to publish Notification in the Gazette of India as applicable to the Statutory/Autonomous bodies, there are certain specifications like the requirement to submit physical bilingual copies of the Notification/Regulation duly signed in ink along with rubber stamp on each page by the competent authority. Photocopies or scanned copies are not permitted. The forwarding letter covering the Notifications/Regulations, is required to be signed by the competent authority of the organisation not lower than the rank of a Joint Secretary to the GoI.
5.2 It was further presented that the process involved is likely to be an impediment particularly when the number of pages for notification are more and there is a need for an urgent notification. It was therefore, proposed that for operational convenience and to ensure timely Gazette of Notifications/Regulations, Executive Director level officer of IRDAI equivalent of Joint Secretary to the GoI may be authorized to sign the Notifications/Regulations and the forwarding letter.
5.3 After deliberations, the Authority authorized Executive Director level officer of
IRDAI, equivalent of Joint Secretary to the GoI, to sign the Notifications/Regulations and the forwarding letter to publish Notifications/Regulations of IRDAI in the Gazette of India.
Table Item
1. Delegation of powers of the Authority under Section 34 of the Insurance Act, 1938 on issuance of the Direction
1.1 It was presented that in exercise of the power under section 23 of IRDA Act, 1999, the power to impose penalty under Section 102, 104 and 105 C (2) and 105D is delegated to Panel of two Whole Time Members constituted by the Chairman. It was further presented that certain violations identified in on-site and off-site inspection of insurers and insurance intermediaries may warrant issuance of appropriate directions under Section 34 of the Insurance Act, 1938 besides imposition of monetary penalties. This may entail restriction on the scope of the permissible business as per the certificate of registration.
1.2 Currently, the powers to issue directions under Section 34 of the Insurance Act, 1938 has been delegated to the Chairperson under Section 23 of the IRDA Act. This differential levels of delegation may warrant parallel proceedings in a single case, which will be process and time inefficient. It was therefore, proposed that the powers to issue directions to any insurer or insurance intermediary in particular in an enforcement proceeding for identified violations, under section 34 of Insurance Act, 1938 be delegated to a Panel of two (2) Whole Time members, constituted by the Chairperson. However, the power to issue direction on any other matter under section 34 of the Insurance Act, 1938 shall remain with the Chairperson.
1.3 After deliberations, the agenda was approved.
