Bima Sugam to offer free services to consumers: IRDAI
Bima Sugam, the ambitious insurance electronic marketplace which is being kicked off by the Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority of India (IRDAI), will offer free services to consumers through a not-for-profit structure.

IRDAI gives in-principle nod for Policybazaar to upgrade license, enter reinsurance selling
PB Fintech on Friday said that insurance regulator IRDAI has granted in-principle approval to its wholly owned subsidiary Policybazaar Insurance Brokers (Policybazaar) to upgrade its license from a direct insurance broker (Life and General) to a composite insurance broker. This approval is expected to pave the way for Policybazaar to sell reinsurance products besides being a pure play platform focused on insurance buying. 

LIC receives ₹21,740 crore tax refund from Income Tax dept; remaining ₹3,700 crore awaited
Life Insurance of India (LIC) of India announced that it received refund orders for ₹21,740.77 crore from the Income Tax Department. The country's largest insurer had received refund orders for Assessment Years 2012- 13, 2013-14, 2014-15, 2016-17, 2017-18, 2018-19 and 2019-20, according to a report by Economic Times. The total amount of refund was ₹25,464.46 crore.

What is LIC's Amritbaal insurance plan for children? Key features explained
Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) has launched Amritbaal policy meant for children. It is a non-linked, non-participating, individual, savings, life insurance plan which parents can buy in the name of their kids.

Insurers foresee more cancellations, premium rise if Red Sea attacks persist
Amid ongoing disruptions in the Red Sea region, some Indian general insurers have cancelled their policy covers whereas others have hiked premiums for voyages involving Red Sea shipments and are looking at more such increases if the attacks continue to persist.

PB Fintech subsidiary can now facilitate sale of reinsurance products

A composite insurance broker can also sell reinsurance products besides general and life insurance products.

‘Our market share should be like SBI’s in banking’
Goal-based investing is a win-win for investors and fund houses as it prevents investors from redeeming for short-term needs, says Shamsher Singh, MD & CEO of SBI Funds Management. In an interview to Siddhant Mishra, Singh says SBI MF has the ability to service 95% of pin codes in India, and will only get better thanks to technology.

Edited excerpts:

Should you invest in Mirae’s latest multi-factor small-cap fund?
Mirae Asset Mutual Fund (Mirae Asset MF)—the ninth largest fund house in the mutual fund industry with nearly ₹1.5 trillion assets under management (AUM)—has launched its first small- cap fund. However, this is not your regular small-cap fund. It is a multi-factor fund that will track an alternative small-cap index created using different quantitative factors.

6 best performing mutual funds in infrastructure space to invest in 2024
India’s recent emphasis on advancing infrastructure development is a notable trend with substantial consequences. The 2024 Interim Budget underscored a considerable focus on infrastructure development, earmarking a historic budget of ₹11.11 lakh crore (3.4% of GDP). Numerous pivotal announcements were made across diverse sectors. Furthermore, the connection between India’s infrastructure development and the facilitation of foreign investment via Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs) is anticipated to enhance India’s economic strategy.

Valuations elevated, but earnings growth provides comfort: Anish Tawakley
India is poised to perform well, even in the face of a potential slowdown in the US economy, thanks to robust domestic demand fuelled by construction and homebuilding activities, according to ANISH TAWAKLEY, deputy chief investment officer, equity, ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund. In an email exchange with Abhishek Kumar, Tawakley expresses confidence in domestic cyclicals driving future performance.

Edited excerpts
 

Canara Robeco Mutual Fund launches Canara Robeco Manufacturing Fund; all you need to know
Canara Robeco Mutual Fund announced the launch of the Canara Robeco Manufacturing Fund. The scheme opened for public subscription on February 16, 2024, and will close on March 01, 2024. The scheme re-opens for continuous sale and repurchase on March 18, 2024.

More PMS schemes outperform benchmarks than mutual funds: PMS Bazaar
A study by PMS Bazaar that analyzed 335 PMS investment approaches and 388 mutual funds (regular funds) across one, three, five and 10-year periods showed that PMS investment approaches outperformed their benchmarks by 70 per cent on average across all timeframes and categories, while mutual funds outperformed 48 per cent of the time.

Hybrid mutual funds gather steam; attract Rs 20,634 crore in Jan
Hybrid mutual funds gather steam

Samara in talks for Enovate deal
Samara Capital, an Indian private equity fund, is in advanced talks to invest in natural ingredients supplier Enovate Biolife, which operates in India as well as the US, at least two people aware of the development told VCCircle.

FPIs cautious on equities; take out Rs 3,776 cr in Feb so far on spike in US bond yields
Foreign investors adopted a cautious approach offloading Indian equities worth close to Rs 3,776 crore so far this month owing to a spike in the US bond yields and uncertainty over the interest rate environment in the domestic as well as the global front.

Sundaram Alternates plans to raise ₹1,000 crore to fund green realty projects
Dubai: Sundaram Alternates Assets (SAA), the private equity arm of Sundaram Finance Group, plans to raise about ₹1,000 crore from global investors to fund green real estate projects in India.