GOVT WANTS INSURANCE BILL TO BE PASSED: FM

New Delhi: Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Saturday expressed hope that insurance bill, which envisages among other things raising FDI limit in the sector to 49 per cent, would be passed by Parliament in this term of the government.

"As far as insurance is concerned, it is still on our agenda, we want the insurance bill to be passed... I have hope this bill will be passed in the term of this government," Chidambaram said.

He also noted that the bill has already been passed by the Parliamentary Standing Committee, which had objections to one or two clauses. He further added that "I have asked the Left to clear it".

The Left parties, which have been opposing government's proposal to raise the FDI limit in the sector from 26 per cent to 49 per cent, have already withdrawn their support to the UPA government.

Players in the insurance space are expecting that government may move forward to raise the FDI limit once it gets trust vote in the Lok Sabha on July 22.

A Group of Minister led by Externals Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee is looking into the issue of opening of insurance sector, but due to strong opposition from the Left parties it failed to reach any consensus.

Referring to the opening of the insurance sector to the private players, the Finance Minister said he had introduced the bill in 1997 though it was defeated at that time by the BJP. "The same bill was passed in 1999," he added.

Source: PTI, The Times of India, The Indian Express