The government plans to come up with an ordinance soon for setting up a full-fledged Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) on the lines of IRDA and Sebi.PFRDA, which is now an interim body under the finance ministry, will become a statutory body once the government brings an ordinance."The bill could not be tabled in the winter session of the Parliament. An ordinance is expected any time now," a senior finance ministry official said today.The ordinance would subsequently be replaced by a legislation, hopefully in the Budget session.After the ordinance, the government would speed up the process of appointing pension fund managers and a central record-keeping and accounting agency, which would monitor all data relevant to pension funds, he said.PFRDA is expected to spell out the extent of foreign direct investment cap in the pension sector.Almost a dozen global financial powerhouses including Principal, Merrill Lynch, Templeton, Prudential, Aviva and Standard Life have evinced interest in entering the pension business.
