Is a single pensions regulator on the cards in India?

Plans were first mooted three years ago

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The Indian finance ministry is believed to be working on the creation of a single regulator for all pension products, according to local business news website Moneycontrol.com.

Currently, the national pension system is overseen by the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA).

But pension products sold by insurance companies fall under the remit of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI), and mutual funds are regulated by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi).

To avoid this overlap, the PFRDA has been lobbying for the creation of a single regulator to control all types of products.

A final decision could come by the end of March 2020.

Inconclusive result

An expert committee had previously been set up by the finance ministry to assess the proposals, but it did not manage to resolve the issue.

But following the general elections in May 2019, the government said it will look at it again.

The PFRDA has already put itself forward to become the single regulatory body, asking that it approve and regulate any product bearing the word ‘pension’.

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