Pantaloon gets nod for insurance JV

The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) today cleared the joint venture between Kishore Biyani's Pantaloon Retail India and Italian insurance firm The Generali Group to commence their insurance businesses.

The joint venture, Future Generali India Life Insurance Company (Future Generali), IRDA said in a release. Besides, it also granted Future Generali approval to transact the general insurance business.

The Future Group holds 74% stake in the insurance venture.

Future Generali is expected to start the business with an initial capital of Rs 200 crore. The company is planning to sell its products through supermarkets like Big Bazaar.

"India is a very young country with 60% of the population below 30 years of age. These are the new insurance buyers of India tomorrow, who spend a significant time at modern retail outlets (stores and malls)," Future Group CEO Kishore Biyani had said.

Presently, there are 16 life insurance players and 15 general insurance companies in the country. Generali is one of the largest insurance groups in the world, operating in 40 countries through 107 companies. It ranks 22 in the list of Fortune 500 companies and is the largest corporation in Italy with an asset base of over 300 billion euros.