Public Insurance Registry: IRDAI Targets Beta Launch in January 2028
Why in the news
At the SamvAAd 2026 India Open Finance Summit in Mumbai on 15 October 2026, IRDAI Chairman Ajay Seth said a beta version of the Public Insurance Registry is planned for January 2028, while PFRDA Chairman Sivasubramanian Ramann stressed data neutrality in the Account Aggregator system.
Key facts
- Public Insurance Registry (PIR): beta targeted for January 2028; the timeline is still under discussion.
- Insurance Information Bureau (IIB) is proposed to be turned into a not-for-profit company to host the registry.
- Feedback deadline on the PIR consultation paper moved from 30 September to 17 October 2026.
- Eight use cases identified; six require the Account Aggregator (AA) ecosystem. Examples: premium financing, insurance needs assessment, using insurance history in lending, and surety bonds in place of bank guarantees.
- India has about 60 insurers whose data formats are not standardised; PIR will set standards for new data first.
- PIR vs Bima Sugam: PIR mainly serves institutions; Bima Sugam is a customer-facing digital insurance marketplace. Seth called the two complementary.
- PFRDA view: Ramann said neutrality is the licence to operate for consent managers and credited Sahamati with common AA standards that remove the need for bilateral agreements.
About the regulators
IRDAI regulates the insurance sector and is headed by Ajay Seth. PFRDA regulates pension funds; Sivasubramanian Ramann, a former Deputy CAG, became its chairperson in 2025. The AA framework enables consent-based sharing of financial data, which Ramann said can help shift lending from collateral to cash-flow-based assessment.
Exam angle
- Match heads: IRDAI – Ajay Seth; PFRDA – Sivasubramanian Ramann.
- PIR (institution-focused) is distinct from Bima Sugam (consumer marketplace).
- Sahamati is the industry body behind AA ecosystem standards.