Lok Sabha passes bill to provide greater private participation in public sector insurance companies

The Lok Sabha on Monday passed a bill to provide greater private participation in the public sector insurance companies and to enhance insurance penetration and social protection.

The General Insurance Business (Nationalisation) Amendment Bill, 2021 was passed amid opposition protests over various issues including demand for a probe into allegations of surveillance through Pegasus spyware.

Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, who briefly spoke on the bill amid protests, termed it "anti-people and anti-national legislation."

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman strongly refuted the charges and said the government was not snatching any rights.

"If they are serious, they should sit down, debate and ask questions. Since you are afraid that truth will come out, you don't want discussion," she said.

The bill seeks to amend General Insurance Business (Nationalisation) Act, 1972 to "provide for greater private participation in the public sector insurance companies".

It seeks to enhance insurance penetration and social protection and better secure the interests of policyholders and contribute to faster growth of the economy.

The bill seeks to remove proviso of the Act to remove the requirement that the Central Government holds not less than 51 per cent of the equity capital in a specified insurer.

Earlier, the Tribunals Reforms Bill, 2021 was introduced in the House. It seeks to dissolve certain existing appellate bodies and transfers their functions to other existing judicial bodies.

The Rajya Sabha, which also witnessed protests by the opposition, passed the Inland Vessels Bill, 2021. It was earlier passed by Lok Sabha.

The Bill seeks to incorporate unified law for the country, instead of separate rules framed by the states. The registration certificate under the new law will be considered valid all over the country, and separate permissions from states shall not be required.

( With inputs from ANI )