New Delhi, March 17: The Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that by the year 2033, all citizens of the country will be covered under insurance.
Responding to a supplementary question during Question Hour in Rajya Sabha on Tuesday, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the Indian insurance sector is expanding rapidly. It is emerging as a strong and inclusive ecosystem, where even the lowest sections of the society are getting security cover due to the government’s policies.
She said that in the financial year 2024-25, the size of the insurance sector will reach Rs 1,17,505 crore, under which 58 crore people of the country will be covered. Public sector companies have collected premium of Rs 42,420 crore. The private sector’s share is Rs 37,752 crore. Standalone health insurance companies contribute โน37,331 crore.
She reported that 25.1 million individual health insurance policies were issued in FY 2024-25, covering 60.1 million people. Additionally, 130.5 million group health insurance policies cover 275.1 million members. Finance Minister Sitharaman stated that the average per capita premium globally is $943, while in India it is only $97. The government is implementing several targeted reforms to bridge this gap.
The GST exemption on individual premiums and new regulations notified by the regulatory body, IRDA, in 2024 to expand insurance coverage in rural and social sectors are steps in this direction. Furthermore, with the aim of deepening market penetration and increasing penetration, the government introduced a bill in December 2025 to increase foreign direct investment in the insurance sector.
The Finance Minister emphasized that the country’s poorest citizens are not being left behind.
The PM Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana provides life cover of โน2 lakh for an annual premium of just โน436. It has enrolled 267.9 million people so far.
Ayushman Bharat (AB-PMJAY) provides hospitalization cover of โน5 lakh per year to the bottom 40 percent of the country’s population (approximately 120 million families). As of February 28, 2026, 435.2 million Ayushman cards have been issued nationwide.