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Arun Jaitley may step in as Mitra panel on Insurance Bill lacks unanimity

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Chandan Mitra-headed select committee on Insurance Bill has sought more time from the finance ministry before it submits its report, even as the government plans to introduce the Bill to take up the FDI limit in insurance from 26% to 49% in the current upcoming session of Parliament. Members of the select committee are not confident about the report being handed over to the ministry in time – a development that would jeopardise finance minister Arun Jaitley's mega plans on reforms. Members also point out that Congress is still not on board.

The committee was mandated to give its report on the last day of the first working week of the Winter session of Parliament. Going by this, the committee should have handed over the report to the government on November 28. Winter session of the Parliament will be a month-long session beginning Monday, November 24.

A committee member told dna on condition of anonymity, "The committee has been facing challenges such as availability of all members. Secondly two of the members were recently appointed ministers. So the last two meetings got cancelled. When the parliament resumes, proposal for nominating new members on the committee will be laid. The next meeting is scheduled to take place on November 28 and November 29. But that will happen only if the House functions in the first week and the new members are nominated."

The committee has undertaken six meetings with the various stakeholders. Two meetings took place in Mumbai with the Reserve Bank of India and other financial institutions based there. Sources, however, point out that it will be tough for the government to push through the Bill in the Rajya Sabha, where the government is in minority, as the Congress is still not in mood to do support the government on it.
Finance minister Arun Jaitley, meanwhile, has expressed hope that the government will be able to pass the Insurance Bill in the upcoming seession of Parliament. Sources say that come Monday he will himself approach the opposition parties for getting them on board as far as the Insurance Bill is concerned.

It was in 2008 when the UPA had proposed the Bill to hike foreign holding in insurance joint ventures to 49%. At the time BJP had opposed it. In the same year, the Bill was referred to standing committee on finance headed by Yashwant Sinha, which gave 86 amendments, which were accepted.
 

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