Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Sunday expressed concern over the slow progress of financial sector reforms in banking, insurance, pension and capital markets.
NEW DELHI: Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Sunday expressed concern over the slow progress of financial sector reforms in banking, insurance, pension and capital markets and hoped that some breakthrough might take place in the remaining tenure of the UPA Government.
"Financial sector reforms are lagging behind. We need to push through financial sector reforms in banking, insurance and pension and unfinished agenda in the capital markets... But I still think that we have 16 months and we might be able to make some progress," Chidambaram said at the India Economic Summit here.
The UPA Government took over charge in May 2004 and its tenure would end in the first half of 2009.
Pointing out that these reforms are the heart of the economy, he said," We have not been able to push through the financial sector reforms."
Earlier, Chidambaram had asked for political space to carry out financial sector reforms. But continued resistance from the Left parties have seen little breakthrough in banking, insurance and pension reforms.
While insurance reforms to hike FDI limit in the sector from the present 26 per cent was referred to a group of ministers, not much headway has been made there.
In banking reforms bill also, not much progress has been made and minor portion of the amendment bill on the limit on the Statutory Liquidity Ratio was separately passed since the overall bill was opposed by the Left parties.
In the pension sector, while most state governments and the Centre have agreed to allow their employees to put part of their retirement money under New Pension System in the stock market, a bill to give statutory powers to the pension regulator is pending in Parliament for long.
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