Lok Sabha passed a bill to amend the Public Sector General Insurance Act

The Lok Sabha on Monday passed a bill to amend the General Insurance Act to allow the government to reduce its stake in state-owned insurance companies. The General Insurance Business (Nationalisation) Amendment Bill, 2021 aims to generate necessary resources from the Indian markets so that public sector general insurers can design innovative products.

As per the Statement of Objects and Reasons for the General Insurance Business (Nationalisation) Amendment Bill, 2021, it seeks to do away with the requirement that the central government should hold not less than 51 per cent of the equity capital in a specified insurer. In order to provide greater private participation in public sector insurance companies, to increase insurance penetration and social security, to better protect the interests of policyholders and to contribute to the rapid growth of the economy, certain provisions of the Act amendment has become necessary. to the bill.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman introduced this bill on Friday. The Finance Minister had announced a massive privatization agenda in the Budget for 2021-22 which included two public sector banks and a general insurance company.