A clause to list Max Life by merging it with listed parent Max Financial Services has been removed, the second person said. This would have potentially violated Section 35 of the Insurance Act, 1938, under which an insurance company's business cannot be merged into the business of a non-insurance firm. In 2016, Irdai blocked the merger of Max Life and HDFC Standard Life Insurance Co. Ltd on similar grounds, stating the deal structure—in which Max Life would first merge with Max Financial—violated Section 35, which bars an insurance company merging with a non-insurance firm.