IRDAI removes age bar for buying health insurance; Check who can apply now
The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has dissolved the barrier to applying for health insurance in India that allowed only individuals aged 65 and lower to purchase health covers. The recent development on Sunday has pushed insurance companies to provide insurance to people irrespective of their age.

Health insurance for all ages
Senior citizens, even if they are 80 or 90 years old, will now be able to buy health insurance, irrespective of existing medical conditions. This is a huge relief for all Indians above the age of 65.

Supreme Court intervenes on healthcare: Why insurance model isn’t enough
It’s a scary experience that you have certainly heard of. A sudden health crisis results in hospitalisation. Several tests, drugs and procedures later, the patient and family are facing crises on two fronts — the illness and humongous costs. After discussing the patient’s condition with an anxious family member, there is another inevitable gloomy interaction: “Doctor, we have exhausted our resources. Can you do something about the bill?” Out-of-pocket costs and impoverishment due to illness are among our gravest societal tragedies. Resentment towards costs is a big factor in the growing hostility, including violence, against healthcare workers.

Swiggy’s health insurance takes more from workers, gives less
Food-tech unicorn Swiggy, which is gearing up for an IPO later this year, provides an incentive-based structure for health insurance for its delivery agents, which works to the advantage of the company, while putting the delivery personnel at a huge disadvantage in case of any leave taken in case of family emergencies etc.

Pricing key challenge for health insurance of older citizens: Experts

“The key point of contention is affordability of insurance at a senior age. The price of the product is always higher because the risk and vulnerability is higher. So, that has been a touch point always for that age group. Simultaneously, there is an issue on the amount of insurance cover. Also, there is the issue of the existing set of ailments,” said an insurance industry official. Last week, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai) said that insurance companies must ensure that they offer health insurance products to all age groups, effective from April 1, 2024.

Why Mirae Asset MF is cautioning its ETF investors?
Mirae Asset Mutual Fund (Mirae Asset MF) has cautioned investors looking to purchase units of its overseas exchange-traded funds (ETFs), noting that these ETFs are currently trading at a premium. 

New Fund Offer: HDFC Mutual Fund launches HDFC Manufacturing Fund – Should you invest?
HDFC Asset Management Co Ltd, the investment manager to HDFC Mutual Fund (HDFC MF), has announced the launch of HDFC Manufacturing Fund. This open-ended equity scheme aims to unlock the potential of India’s manufacturing sector by investing predominantly in equity and equity-related securities of companies engaged in manufacturing activities.

Nifty can hit 100,000; mid, smallcaps are a real pot of gold: Vikas Khemani

What's your key differentiator for the Bharat Amritkaal fund? There are many such funds that already exist.

Small, midcap funds remain mutual fund investors' top choice in March

Sectoral and thematic fund category, which has six times more schemes than the smallcap fund space, led the race with 817,000 folio additions in March. Midcap funds also managed to add more folios than the lower-risk largecap and flexicap funds. Midcap schemes added nearly 300,000 folios, while largecap funds added 179,000 and flexicap funds 256,600, shows data from the Association of Mutual Funds in India (Amfi).
 

`Upcoming weeks crucial for markets': Harsha Upadhyaya, Chief Investment Officer, Kotak MF

Excerpts 

Mutual funds collect ₹66,364 cr through NFOs in FY24
 

Mirae Asset MF cautions investors on trading in overseas-focused ETFs
Market regulator SEBI has directed mutual funds to stop accepting fresh investment in their overseas ETFs as the overall limit of the industry is inching closer to the $1-billion mark set by the banking regulator RBI.

Peak XV’s MD Piyush Gupta quits, to launch own fund
Piyush Gupta, who served as Managing Director at Peak XV Partners, is departing the venture firm at the end of this month, according to sources familiar to the matter. Gupta plans to launch his own secondary-focused fund, which Peak XV intends to work closely with to facilitate transactions at its portfolio firms, sources added.

IOB plans to raise equity capital up to ₹5,000 cr in FY25
MUMBAI: Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) is planning to raise up to ₹5,000 crore in FY25 in a bid to meet SEBI’s minimum public shareholding (MPS) norm. As per the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Rules, 2018, every listed company needs to have at least 25 per cent MPS. As at March-end 2024, Government of India’s shareholding in the Chennai-headquartered public sector bank stood at 96.38 per cent.  

Aramco’s VC arm in talks for India team
Mumbai : The venture capital (VC) arm of Saudi Aramco is building an India team and scouting for early-stage deals in the country, two people aware of the plans said, in a move to leverage India’s startup story and widen the fund’s global reach.