FM to meet opposition leaders tomorrow on insurance bill

Keen to get the insurance bill approved in the monsoon session of Parliament, Finance Minister P Chidambaram will meet leaders of opposition parties tomorrow in a bid to arrive at a consensus on hiking the foreign investment cap in the sector to 49 per cent.
The Insurance Amendment Bill to raise the foreign direct investment (FDI) cap in the insurance sector to 49 per cent from 26 per cent has been pending in the Rajya Sabha since 2008. The pension bill too aims to raise it to the same level.
Leaders of the opposition parties have agreed to the meeting and the finance minister hopes to get a positive response to the clause, Chidambaram had said on July 31. While the insurance bill needs to be discussed, the pension bill can be approved by Parliament, he had said.

Although the insurance bill provided for an increase in FDI cap to 49 per cent, the Standing Committee on Finance, headed by senior BJP leader Yashwant Sinha, did not favour the hike in FDI ceiling.
The monsoon session of Parliament will be held from August 5 to 30.