Mumbai, May 5 -- The issuance of new life insurance policies in India has declined following the removal of tax deduction benefits, said Deepak Parekh, Former Chairman of HDFC Bank, highlighting how policy changes under the new tax regime have impacted consumer behaviour.

Speaking to the media on the sidelines of the 2nd Edition of CII BFSI Summit on Tuesday, Parekh said that life insurance earlier saw strong growth largely because premiums qualified for tax deductions.

"Insurance was growing rapidly because the amount of premium you paid was allowed as a deduction from your income... But now that benefit is removed, new insurance policies have come down because of the tax benefit being removed," he said.

The change is linked to the in...