BJP against hiking FDI cap to 49 per cent in insurance sector

NEW DELHI: BJP today said there will be no consensus on passing of insurance bill if the government does not agree to retain the FDI cap at 26 per cent as against the proposed 49 per cent.

BJP leader Yashwant Sinha said his party was willing to support the Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2008 provided the government shed its obstinate stand of providing 49 per cent FDI in the sector.

The Bill, he said, had many good provisions which BJP was supportive of, but foreign investment limit was the sore point.

The Bill seeks to raise the limit on foreign investment in private insurance companies, a long-standing demand of overseas investors to 49 per cent from the current 26 per cent.

The insurance Bill was first introduced in the Rajya Sabha in 2008, but the government has not been able to build a consensus on it.

The Cabinet cleared the increase in the limit in October 2012. The parliamentary standing committee on finance had, however, suggested that the cap be kept at 26 per cent.

Finance Minister P Chidambaram had met BJP leaders Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley on Thursday to seek support for the insurance Bill.