Insurance regulator IRDAI on Tuesday proposed to extend the validity of regulatory sandbox guidelines by two years as the proposals received under it require more time for completion.
To give a fillip to insurance penetration and facilitate innovations in the sector, especially those triggered by technology, the regulator had notified the IRDAI (Regulatory Sandbox) Regulations, 2019 on July 26, 2019.
The regulations are scheduled to expire on July 25, 2021.
The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDAI) invited applications for the first cohort of the regulatory sandbox from September 15, 2019 till October 14, 2019. A total of 173 applications were filed with it.
It announced the second cohort for one month starting from September 15, 2020 and received 185 applications.
In an exposure draft, the regulator said it was observed that most of the proposals could not be completed within a period of six months due to COVID-19. They were, therefore, granted extension by another six months to complete the experiment.
"It may also be noted that the validity of the Regulatory Sandbox Regulations, expires on July 25, 2021. Some of the proposals belonging to the 1st cohort will not be completed by then.
"In addition, the proposals of 2nd cohort will not be completed by July 25, 2021," IRDAI said while recommending that the period of validity of the IRDAI (Regulatory Sandbox) Regulations be extended by two years.
Comments have been invited on the draft regulations by January 27.
Regulatory sandbox (RS) usually refers to live testing of new products or services in a controlled/test regulatory environment for which regulators may (or may not) permit certain relaxations for the limited purpose of the testing.
The RS allows the regulator, innovators, financial service providers and customers to conduct field tests to collect evidence on the benefits and risks of new financial products and services.
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Dear Reader,
Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance.
We, however, have a request.
As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed.
Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard.
Digital Editor
RECOMMENDED FOR YOU