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LIVE: Rajya Sabha passes bill to hike FDI in insurance sector to 74%

By raising the FDI limit to 74%, the current provision of control being vested with Indian companies had to be dropped. Stay tuned for Latest LIVE news

Image BS Web Team New Delhi
rajya sabha

File pic of Rajya Sabha

Latest news live updates: Rajya Sabha on Thursday approved a bill to raise the foreign investment limit in the insurance sector to 74 per cent with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman saying while control will go to foreign companies, the majority of directors and key management persons will be resident Indians who will be covered by law of the land.

Meanwhile, the Delhi High Court today upheld the Singapore's Emergency Arbitrator's (EA) order restraining Future Retail Ltd (FRL) from going ahead with its Rs 24,713 crore deal with Reliance Retail to sell its business, which was objected to by US-based e-commence giant Amazon.
 
Earlier in the day, the Telangana government presented a tax-free Budget for 2021-22, proposing a total expenditure of Rs 2,30,825.96 crore with major allocations made for panchayat raj and rural development, agriculture, irrigation, social security pensions and others.

Stay tuned for the latest news of the day.
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LIVE: Rajya Sabha passes bill to hike FDI in insurance sector to 74%

Rajya Sabha on Thursday approved a bill to raise the foreign investment limit in the insurance sector to 74 per cent with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman saying while control will go to foreign companies, the majority of directors and key management persons will be resident Indians who will be covered by law of the land.
 
"The laws of the land are fairly mature. They can control every operation which happens in this country. (No one can) take it (money) away and make us sit and watch," she said replying to a debate on the bill.
 
Giving out reasons for the decision to raise the foreign direct investment (FDI) limit, she said insurance companies are facing liquidity pressure and the higher limit would help meet the growing capital requirement.
 
On change of definition of 'control' of the insurance company with the hike in FDI limit, she said control means right to appoint a majority of directors, control the management of policy decisions including by virtue of their shareholding or management right or shareholder agreements or voting agreements. By raising the FDI limit to 74 per cent, the current provision of control being vested with Indian companies had to be dropped.
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Govil joined the BJP in the presence of its general secretary Arun Singh and Union Minister Debasree Chaudhuri after the party announced the names of 148 candidates for the West Bengal assembly polls.
 
"West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's irritation to Jai Shri Ram was a trigger point for me to join the BJP. And there is nothing wrong in saying Jai Shri Ram....it is not a slogan, not even a political slogan. It is a way of life for us, it represents our culture and ethos," he told the media at the BJP headquarters.
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Rajya Sabha passes bill to hike FDI in insurance sector to 74% from current 49%

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Delhi HC restrains Future Group from moving ahead with Rs 24,000 crore Reliance deal on Amazon's plea

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Justice J R Midha directed Kishore Biyani-led FRL not to take further action on the deal and held that the group wilfully violated Singapore Arbitrator's order.
 
The high court directed the Future Group and its directors to deposit Rs 20 lakh cost in Prime Minister's Relief Fund for providing COVID-19 vaccines to senior citizens of Below Poverty Line (BPL) category. The court directed the presence of Biyani and others before it on April 28 as also attachment of their properties.
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About 200,000 jobs added in IT sector since 2019: Ravi Shankar Prasad

The IT sector has contributed 8 per cent to the country's GDP and two lakh new jobs have been added in the sector since 2019, Information Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad told the Rajya Sabha on Thursday.
 
He said the government also intends to lay BharatNet in villages all over India and the prime minister wants this to be accomplished in the coming 1000 days.
 
Replying to supplementaries during Question Hour, the minister said India has attained its image in the world due to digital India. READ MORE...

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First Published: Mar 18 2021 | 8:14 AM IST