This Article is From Jul 31, 2014

Modi Government's First Big Reform Push Hits Opposition Roadblock

Modi Government's First Big Reform Push Hits Opposition Roadblock
New Delhi: The Narendra Modi government's first big reforms push, the Insurance Bill, has reportedly run into some rough weather. Listed for introduction in the Rajya Sabha today, it is now "likely to be taken up for discussion on Monday," said Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. (Track Latest Developments)

The Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill aims to raise the ceiling on foreign direct investment (FDI) in insurance to 49 per cent from the current 26 per cent limit. The government has proposed 11 amendments to the bill, which the Opposition now reportedly wants referred to an all-party parliamentary panel called the select committee.

The government is not keen to do that as it will delay a reform it has promised and will now talk to opposition parties to find a way out.   

Senior Congress leader and former Commerce minister Anand Sharma said, "We will decide after going through the Bill. The BJP had opposed our earlier attempts. We will have to examine the safeguards before taking a decision," adding that the Congress stand would be known once the Parliament's Business Advisory Committee or BAC listed the Bill for discussion.  

The Congress' move is a tit for tat for action. The bill to raise the cap on FDI in insurance to 49 per cent was first moved in the Rajya Sabha by the Congress-led UPA in 2008; it has been hanging fire since.

The BJP has in opposition said it was against raising the cap on FDI in insurance from 26 per cent. Last year, as the Congress government sought to push it again, the BJP clarified that it was not against raising the limit on FDI in insurance, but wanted certain caveats and conditions to "safeguard the interest of the people".

The Left has made clear it is against the move as has Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress. Sharad Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party, a Congress ally, has, however, said it supports the Bill.   

The BJP-led NDA has a brute majority in the Lok Sabha and the bill will sail through there. But it first needs to get it through the Rajya Sabha where it is in a minority and will need the Congress' backing.

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