Government to take final call on Insurance Bill today?

Mangalore Today News Network

New Delhi, Aug 07, 2014:  The government is likely to take the final call on Insurance Bill on Thursday. The second all party meeting to hammer out a consensus over the controversial Insurance Bill, which was scheduled for yesterday, was not held.

Sources confirmed yesterday that the government is waiting for Congress response which has been given two days to reply.

The brief meeting in Parliament House remained inconclusive on Monday.

The controversial Insurance Bill, which was listed in Rajya Sabha on Monday was deferred for consideration for the time being after a meeting of the government with opposition leaders failed to break the deadlock in the face of the demand to send it to a Select Committee.

The meeting, convened by Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu, could not iron out differences with the opposition despite Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s plea that the current bill has virtually the same language and content as the previous bill of the Congress-led UPA.

The Insurance Laws Amendment Bill was introduced in the Rajya Sabha in 2008. The Bill seeks to raise foreign investment cap in the sector to 49 per cent, with management control in the hands of Indian promoters. At present 26 per cent FDI is allowed in insurance.