Online resource centre on insurance for magazine, books, training, articles and news on insurance
Investors, who made some quick money trading in retail stocks recently, hope to repeat the feat when the government tables the insurance bill for parliamentary approval. Markets may surge if the government agrees to raise the overall foreign investment limit in insurance companies. Read more
The new proposal to increase foreign investment in insurance may not mean that promoters of insurance companies get to cash in on a portion of their stake. That’s because the finance ministry may be inclining towards allowing additional foreign investment only though the issue of fresh equity, and not a stake sale. Read more
The perception that reforms can be implemented only by stealth has was reinforced by the power play over FDI in multi-brand retail in the Rajya Sabha. Read more
After two days of animated debate, the Lok Sabha voted in favor of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in retail yesterday. Sensex has rallied about 5% during last week in anticipation of favorable outcome from the parliament. This coupled with other recent reform measures announced by the government probably marks the beginning of the much needed second generation economic reforms in India. Read more
In a developing country like India, the government needs to retain some control over domestic savings instead of allowing foreign investors to enjoy control over Indian savings. The Parliamentary Standing Committee came to the same conclusion. It recommended that the cap on foreign direct investment (FDI) be retained at 26 per cent.
The government recently said that life insurance penetration in India was higher than the world average in 2010. Read more
The government is likely to introduce amendments to the Insurance Bill in the current session for raising FDI cap in private sector insurance companies to 49 per cent, Parliament was informed. “…the official amendments to the (Insurance) Bill is likely to be introduced in the current session of Parliament. Read more
The government proposes to push through key economic reforms Bills in sectors like insurance, pension and banking in the forthcoming Winter Session of Parliament which begins. Insurance Bill, that seeks to raise foreign direct investment (FDI) cap in the sector from 26 per cent to 49 per cent figures in the list of official business for the session. Read more
Two days ahead of the Parliament opening recently, BJP leader and head of the Standing Committee on Finance, Yashwant Sinha, indicated areas where the government could get critical bills passed, provided, he underscored, the government chose not to be obdurate. While Sinha was critical of statements by commerce minister Anand Sharma saying executive decisions like FDI in retail couldn’t be questioned by those who had blinkers on, he suggested the BJP may not go with Mamata Banerjee’s no-confidence motion against FDI in retail—a decision will be taken later today. The Banking Regulation Act, which would allow RBI to start processing new bank licences, he indicated could get passed. Excerpts from an interview with Sunil Jain and Shobhana Subramanian: Read more
President Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday said measures like allowing FDI in multi-brand retail and civil aviation will help  in reducing government’s fiscal deficit and putting the economy back on high growth path. Read more