HYDERABAD: New Delhi: With the Opposition demanding that the Insurance (amendment) Bill be referred to a Select Committee, the Government on Sunday deferred its plan to move the NDA’s first major economic reforms legislation for the consideration of Rajya Sabha Tuesday.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu said he and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will talk to leaders of Congress and Opposition parties on Monday on various aspects of the bill that seeks to raise the FDI cap in insurance sector from 26 per cent to 49 per cent.
“Government would like to move the bill for consideration thereafter, preferably day after tomorrow,” Naidu said. The proposed Bill seeks to raise FDI cap to 49% from the current 26%. It was supposed to be tabled last Thursday, but was deferred as the Opposition parties wanted time to study the proposed amendments.
The proposed amendments are based on recommendations of the Standing Committee of Parliament. Naidu appealed the Opposition parties to see the reason and support the Bill in the ongoing Budget session.
“The spirit of the recommendations of the Standing Committee has been accepted by the government and we have proposed the amendments accordingly. It was mostly a Bill proposed by the Congress party and drafted by P Chidambaram, former finance minister. So, there should not be any problem for Congress or other parties to support the Bill, unless they are ideologically opposed to it,” he said.
According to him the desired penetration and funds mobilisation did not take place with the 26% FDI cap.
Meanwhile, the government would be introducing the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Bill, in the coming winter session.