Surabhi
New Delhi, SEPTEMBER 3
The Select Committee of the Rajya Sabha on the Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill is set to hold its first meeting on Thursday. ?All the members as well as finance ministry officials will be present. But since it is the first meeting, it will be of an introductory nature,? said a person close to the development.
The panel is expected to fix up the agenda for the next meetings as well as timeline for holding each meeting, said the source, adding, ?It is imperative that we submit our report on schedule. So we will be working on a tight timeframe.?
Apart from discussing the Bill with the government and insurance regulator Irda, the panel is also expected to seek views from public sector and private sector insurers. It has also received a number of representations, which it will take up over the course of its meetings. The Select Committee was set up after the Rajya Sabha on August 14 decided to a special panel to examine the amendments proposed by the NDA government.
While the Bill primarily seeks to hike the composite foreign direct investment cap in the insurance sector to 49 per cent from the current cap of 26 per cent, it has also proposed other changes including permitting stake sales in state owned insurance firms, curb mis-selling and enhance investor protection measures.
However, Opposition parties had opposed the Bill forcing the government to refer it to the Select Committee. The panel, led by senior BJP MP Chandan Mitra, is expected to submit its report to the Parliament within the first week of the Winter Session.
