The new Insurance Bill may take little time to see light of teh day.
Insurance companies will find it difficult to deny claims to policy holders on 'flimsy' grounds once the Parliament approves the amendment to the Consumer Protection Act, a ministry official said on Monday.
The government had first mentioned raising foreign direct investment ceiling in insurance sector to 49 per cent from the current 26 per cent in the 2004 Union Budget and introduced a Bill to do so over a year ago.
The Bills are primarily aimed at helping the MSME sector and small traders, Finance Minister Piyush Goyal said while introducing these in the Lok Sabha
The current session of Parliament may be extended to enable the passage of bills, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Venkaiah Naidu told Bharatiya Janata Party MPs in New Delhi on Tuesday.
The sector faces many challenges and calls for prompt corrective action.
The Insurance penetration in India is very low at 3.9 per cent.
The Insurance Laws Amendment Bill is likely to come up in the Rajya Sabha on March 12 for consideration and passage.
The much-anticipated cryptocurrency bill, however, is missing from the list, reports Shrimi Choudhary.
In a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Global Federation of Insurance Associations has said the global insurance industry is 'most encouraged' to learn that the government intends to bring up Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2008, for consideration in the current session of Parliament.
The proposed bill seeks to raise FDI cap in the sector to 49% from the present 26.5%
The National Democratic Alliance government's parliamentary managers have a busy weekend ahead, says Rediff.com contributor Anita Katyal.
The 30-share Sensex ended 271 points higher to end at 28,930 and the 50-share Nifty climbed 76 points to close at 8,776.
It will allow more transparency in policies and flexibility in premium payment, besides improving processing of claims.
The Cabinet on Thursday approved 49 per cent foreign investment in insurance companies through the Foreign Investment Promotion Board route ensuring management control in the hands of Indian promoters.
India, the biggest contributor to world demand for oil, will bring into effect in an overhaul of its drilling policy. This comes after more than a year of preparation and will boost the exploration and development of India's oil and gas sector along with increased participation by foreign drillers
The bill also has provision of up to Rs 10 lakh compensation in case of road fatality.
The Bill when enacted will pave the way for setting up of the Resolution Corporation
Under the law, Rs 10,000 fine would be levied for not giving way to emergency vehicles and for driving despite disqualification. Aggregators violating driving licence norms will be fined up to Rs 100,000.
Government floor managers are busy talking to Opposition members to resolve the stand-off over Minister Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti's remarks, in the Rajya Sabha.
Regarding road safety, stricter provisions have been proposed for offences like juvenile driving, driving without licence, dangerous driving, drunken driving, over-speeding and overloading.
The government has announced a crop insurance policy.
Insurance firms want more clarity before increasing foreign partner's stake.
Senior government officials say that barring the National Housing Bank Amendment Bill, no major Bill -- not even the Banking Bill which the Cabinet has cleared -- will make it to Parliament by May 22, the last day of this Budget session.
With disruptions continuing, the productivity of Rajya Sabha fell to 13.70 per cent during the second week of the ongoing monsoon session from 32.20 per cent during the first week, resulting in an overall productivity of 21.60 per cent for the first two weeks.
The much-delayed Insurance Bill seeks to raise the foreign investment cap in the sector from 26 per cent to 49 per cent, with a rider that the management control rests in the hands of Indian promoter.
The Cabinet had had approved promulgation of the Ordinance on Insurance Bill and re-promulgation of the Coal Ordinance on Wednesday, a day after the conclusion of the Winter session of Parliament.
A cross-gender staff deployment -- female officers where male MPs were protesting and male officers where female MPs were protesting -- was made. But this did not deter the MPs belonging to a cross-section of opposition parties -- from the Congress to the Left to the TMC and to the DMK.
Rajya Sabha was adjourned sine die on Wednesday evening, two days ahead of the scheduled end of the Monsoon session, after the passage of four bills including on the OBC list and state-run insurance companies.
A Parliamentary Committee on Wednesday recommended a composite foreign investment cap of 49 per cent in the insurance sector and supported a government Bill to amend the Act.
Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday rejected Bharatiya Janata Party's charge that the Congress was taking a 'U-turn' on the Insurance Bill, saying that there are "no double standards" on the issue.
.jpg)
The new Insurance Bill may be implemented in 2015.
A proposal to hike the FDI cap in the sector was first mooted by the previous UPA government.
The Insurance Bill was deferred for consideration for the time being after a meeting
Congress on Monday kept the government guessing on the insurance bill asking it to take on board all stakeholders and favouring the select committee route even as it insisted that the measure is its own "baby" and it is a "misnomer" that the party is opposed to it.
A bill to auction coal mines is also likely to be passed later.
In the video footage, marshals can be seen forming a human shield to block Opposition MPs from going towards the Chairman's podium.
Bowing to opposition pressure, the government has agreed to refer the controversial Insurance Bill to a Select Committee of Parliament, which will have 15 members.
SBI Life Insurance is a joint venture between SBI and BNP Paribas Cardif.
