Parliament passes bills to remove age cap for BSEC, IDRA chairmen

Two separate bills were passed in Parliament on Tuesday, bringing amendments to remove the maximum age limit for the posts of Chairman and Commissioner of the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) and Chairman and Member of the Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority (IDRA).

With the passage of the two bills, the government will be able to appoint chairmen of any age in the two regulatory bodies.

Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury separately moved the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (Amendment) Bill 2026 and the Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority (Amendment) Bill 2026 in Parliament.

Later, the two bills were passed through a voice vote.

According to the existing law, if a person completes the age of 65, he/she is not considered eligible to be appointed as the Chairman or Commissioner of the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission, nor can he/she continue in office. It has been proposed to delete this provision in the bill.

On the other hand, the Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority Act states that a person cannot become the chairman or member of the Insurance Development Authority if he or she is 67 years of age.

The bill brought to Parliament proposes to remove this provision.

Separate statements containing the purpose and reasons for the two bills state that the laws need to be made timely to appoint experienced, skilled and knowledgeable persons to make important decisions.

The two bills were introduced in Parliament on Tuesday when they were sent to a special parliamentary committee for scrutiny in the absence of the parliamentary committee related to the ministry concerned.