Govt moves Bill in Raya Sabha to raise FDI in insurance from 49% to 74%

The government has introduced a bill in Rajya Sabha that seeks to amend the Insurance Act, allowing 74 per cent foreign direct investment in the sector.

In a major liberalisation move, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday introduced a bill in Rajya that seeks to amend the Insurance Act allowing 74 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) in the sector. The proposed amendments in the Insurance Amendment Bill 2021, introduced in the Union Budget, were approved by the Cabinet on March 10. At present, the FDI limit permitted in life and general insurance is 49 per cent with a rider that the ownership and management control of the companies need to be Indian. If Bill goes through, this would be the second hike in the FDI limit since the Modi government came to power. Earlier in 2015, the government had raised the FDI limit from the original 26 per cent to 49 per cent.