IRDAI clears investments in private companies, eases infrastructure funding norms
The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has widened the investment avenues available to insurers by allowing investments in private limited companies, easing norms for financing infrastructure projects through special purpose vehicles (SPVs), and permitting repo and government securities lending transactions, in a move aimed at improving investment flexibility and liquidity management.Infrastructure SPVs get a boostOne of the key changes allows insurers to invest in debt issued by infrastructure SPVs, or project-specific companies set up to build assets such as road