FM Arun Jaitley hopes Insurance Bill will be passed in Winter Session of Parliament

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday expressed hope that the long-pending and controversial Insurance Amendment Bill, that seeks to raise foreign direct investment (FDI) in the sector from the existing 26 per cent to 49 per cent, would get a nod from the Parliament in the upcoming Winter Session.

"I do hope that the amended bill would be passed in the forthcoming session of Parliament later this month," the Finance Minister said at the India Economic Summit organised by the World Economic Forum in the national capital.

The reform, according to experts, could increase the flow of foreign investment into private insurance firms to Rs 25,000 crore. The move would help insurance firms to get much needed capital from overseas partners.

The month-long Winter Session of Parliament is scheduled to commence from November 24.

The much-delayed Insurance Bill has been referred to the Select Committee of Parliament. The Bill, which comes with a rider that the management control would rest in the hands of Indian promoter, has been pending since 2008 in the Rajya Sabha.

The Minister said the country was pursuing the policy of allowing foreign investment with sectoral cap keeping in mind the requirements of the economy and the appetite of the domestic political system.

"When we were in the government last time we had opened up the sector. At that time the political system had an appetite for a limited opening. We are now opening up the sector a little more," Jaitley added.

The Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill, which proposes to hike the foreign investment limit in the insurance sector to 49 per cent, has been caught in a logjam with the Congress-led opposition insisting that it be referred to a select committee.

Bowing to opposition pressure, the government had in August agreed to refer the Insurance Bill to the 15-member Select Committee, which is expected to submit its report by the third week of November.

At present, there are about two dozen private sector insurance firms, both in life and non-life segments, in the country.