NEW DELHI, Dec 17: The Rajya Sabha on Wednesday passed the Sabka Bima Sabki Raksha (Amendment of Insurance Laws) Bill, which allows 100% Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the insurance sector, a day after the Lok Sabha passed it.
The Upper House also cleared the Repealing and Amending Bill that repeals 71 obsolete laws. The Lok Sabha had passed both the Bills on Tuesday.
The structure of insurance regulation is very clearly laid out in the Bill, and the premium collected from Indians by foreign insurance companies will be kept in the country, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said, replying to a debate on the Bill.
Private sector insurance companies were participating in all welfare schemes of the Union government, and the Bill would ensure that foreign companies will also participate in social sector-related activities and government schemes, Ms Sitharaman said. “We are not giving them any room to get away from that responsibility,” she said.
The increase in the FDI limit to 100% would ensure more foreign companies invest in India as, in many cases, they do not find joint venture partners due to various reasons, the Minister said. With more companies, the competition will increase, and premiums should drop, she said.
Earlier, during the debate, the Opposition demanded that the Bill should be sent to a select committee of Parliament given the far-reaching impact it has on the insurance sector.
Initiating the debate, senior Congress MP Shaktisinh Gohil said the new Bill posed a threat to data privacy as foreign companies would demand the PAN and Aadhaar cards of their customers, which may lead to digital frauds. The Center should learn from the experience of privatizing the civil aviation sector, Mr Gohil said and urged that the Bill should be sent to a select committee.
Questioning the use of two languages, both Hindi and English, in the name of the Bill, Saket Gokhale of the All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) also said the Bill opened the door to profit extraction by foreign companies.
A market share of $600 billion would go to foreign investors once the Bill was implemented, Kanimozhi NVN Somu of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) said. “This is daylight robbery. The government should not squander opportunities to promote and strengthen its own PSUs (public sector undertakings), but this government through this Bill is favoring foreign investors and burdening our own insurance companies,” Ms Kanimozhi said.
The Rajya Sabha also passed the Repealing and Amending Bill. The Bill would remove 71 outdated laws, correcting errors that had crept in during the law-making process, and removing discriminatory aspects of certain laws, Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal said. “We give priority to ease of living along with ease of doing business,” the Minister said. “These reforms are a step towards liberation from a colonial mindset,” he added.
The Bill seeks to repeal 71 Acts, including the Indian Tramways Act, 1886; the Levy Sugar Price Equalization Fund Act, 1976; the Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (Determination of Conditions of Service of Employees) Act, 1988; the General Clauses Act, 1897; the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908; and the Indian Succession Act, 1925.
(Rohit Kumar)
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