The Insurance Regulatory Authority of India (IRAI) Bill is likely to be passed in the Lok Sabha in view of the support extended by the BJP and the Congress. The Left's opposition to the bill is unlikely to block its passage.
The bill is likely to be taken up for consideration today after completion of the debate on Maharashtra killings.
The bill seeks to establish an insurance authority to oversee proper functioning of the sector and to protect the interests of policy holders.
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While the United Front government, the BJP and the Congress are more or less in favour of passing the bill, the Left, particularly the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) is opposed to it. It is apprehensive that the bill may open up the Indian insurance sector for private multinational companies.
The Left has opposed entry of private sector in the insurance sector. The left members, Basudeo Acharya and Roop Chand Pal, had opposed the bill at the time of its introduction in the house on December 12, 1996. The bill was sent to the Parliamentary standing committee on finance after its introduction.
The government is slated to move eleven amendments to the bill as per recommendations of the standing committee on finance and also some of the objections raised by the Left. One of them is to broaden the regulatory authority board's membership. The BJP has suported opening up of the insurance sector to Indian private companies, but has opposed its opening to foreign multinational companies. BJP's deputy Lok Sabha leader Jaswant Singh said that the party has no fear on this front and that he expected the bill to be passed.
Two speakers from the BJP had supported the bill at the time of its introduction.
The Congress holds that the Front government has been honestly carrying forward the agenda of the previous Congress government on the issue of privatisation of the insurance sector. Congress leader Santosh Mohan Deb said that the Congress would support the bill.