Reform report card: Bills bite dust

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: Pension Bill waiting for 3 yrs

Pension Fund Regulatory & Development Authority (PFRDA) Bill was introduced on 21 March 2005 to replace the ordinance promulgated in 2004 for setting up the regulator. This bill intends to set up a regulator and give more freedom to subscribers for investing their retirement money. The Bill was referred to the Standing Committee on Finance after the Left parties opposed the legislation. The Committee submitted its report on July 26, 2005. The finance ministry has finalised the amendments to be included in the Bill and has obtained the Cabinet’s approval. The President has also given her approval for the Bill to be tabled in the House, as it is a money bill. It can, therefore, be introduced in the monsoon session of Parliament and the regulator given a statutory backing.

Insurance reforms for new vistas

The Insurance Amendment Bill is yet to be introduced in Parliament. Its most controversial clause seeks to liberalise the insurance sector by raising the foreign direct investment cap to 49% from the current 26%, which could bring in capital inflows to the tune of Rs 20,000 crore. It would also allow public sector non-life insurers to sell a minority stake to raise capital. Besides raising the FDI cap, the proposed bill for comprehensive amendments to insurance laws include amendments in the Insurance Act of 1999, LIC Act, 1956, and IRDA Act, 1999, among others. An empowered Group of Ministers, headed by the external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee, has been working on the bill for more than a year. The finance ministry had sent the Bill to the Cabinet in last year, which forwarded it to the eGOM. After their approval, the bill once introduced will have to go through the standing committee stage.

Banking sector wait still not over