Draft norms on health insurance policies soon: IRDA

STAFF WRITER 18:56 HRS IST
New Delhi, July 30 (PTI) Insurance regulator IRDA today said that it will soon come out with draft norms that define terms like critical illness and hospitalisation cost, among others, a move that will reduce the scope for disputes between insurers and hospitals.

"I carry with me the draft regulations (on health insurance policies). It will be out very soon," IRDA Chairman J Harinarayan said at a Ficci Health Insurance Conference here.

He said that the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) would lay down a standard definition for major critical illnesses under health insurance, which would reduce confusion between Third Party Administrators (TPAs), insurers and policyholders.

EC derecognises RJD as national party

NEW DELHI: It was a shortlived status for Lalu Prasad's Rashtriya Janata Dal as the Election Commission on Friday derecognised it as a national party along with five other parties.

The only consolation for Lalu is that his rival party in Bihar, JD(U), has also lost the national status. Others in the list are Vaiko-led MDMK, Samajwadi Party, Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) and Arunachal Congress.

EC officials said these parties may retain their symbol, but they would lose facilities like utilising public broadcasters All India Radio and Doordarshan for poll-eve broadcasts and free copies of electoral rolls.

RJD, a recognised party in Bihar, Jharkhand, Manipur and Nagaland, lost its national party recognition following its poor showing in Jharkhand where the party has been derecognised. To get the national party status, a party should be recognised as a state party in at least four states.

The Arunachal Congress lost its state party status in Arunachal Pradesh, PMK in Puducherry and Samajwadi Party in Uttarakhand and Madhya Pradesh. JD(U), a recognised party in Bihar and Jharkhand, lost its recognition in Jharkhand. However, PMK will continue to be accorded the state party status in Tamil Nadu and Samajwadi Party a similar privilege in Uttar Pradesh.

Trinamool Congress and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), which were also served notices earlier, sought more time to present their case, EC sources said. The Commission had earlier issued notices to these seven parties asking them to explain why their recognition in some states should not be withdrawn as they failed to fulfil EC's conditions for being declared as a state party.

The EC conditions for getting recognition include that the total number of valid votes polled by all the candidates of a party in the last Lok Sabha or assembly election should not be less than 6% of the total votes polled.