New Delhi, Sept. 25 -- Shares of Niva Bupa Health Insurance Company Limited ended nearly 1.63% higher on Friday, staging recovery from the previous trading session's steep decline after the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) proposed sweeping reforms for the insurance industry.

The IRDAI draft norms linked to distribution are positive over the medium term, and may have minor impact on near-term growth, the company said during its conference call on Thursday. Brokerage Motilal Oswal echoed the view and maintained its bullish stance on the stock, seeing a potential 31% upside on Niva Bupa Health Insurance.

The insurance company believed that the measures in the draft would be a net positive for the company. Ho...