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

The General Insurance Business (Nationalisation) Amendment Bill, 2021 was passed by Rajya Sabha on Wednesday amid vociferous protests by the opposition parties who demanded that the bill should be referred to a select committee of the House.

The bill had been passed by Lok Sabha on August 3.

The bill was moved for consideration and passing by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. Protesting opposition members came to the well of the House and some of them were seen tearing papers.

They accused the government of not following parliamentary norms and "bulldozing" the legislation.

The Insurance Business (Nationalisation) Amendment Bill was taken up after the upper House unanimously passed the constitution amendment bill to enable states to prepare their own OBC lists.

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.

The opposition has been protesting and forcing adjournments over various issues since the beginning of the monsoon session including demand for a probe into allegations of surveillance through Pegasus spyware.