Insurance companies, including LIC, will now have to publicly disclose their voting policy on resolutions in companies, where they hold stakes. The insurance regulator has asked companies to exercise their "independent judgement" and not to automatically support the proposals made by the board of the investee company.
The directives notified on Wednesday are part of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India's guidelines on 'stewardship code' for insurance companies
The code is aimed at providing insurance companies a framework for using their power as institutional investors. The new directive is significant considering that the LIC played a significant role in recent boardroom battle involving the Tatas and former group chairman Cyrus Mistry.
