<div> The pending Insurance Laws Amendment Bill, which seeks to raise the FDI cap in the sector to 49 per cent, is likely to the Parliament approval in the upcoming winter session, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said on Sunday.</div><div> </div><div>"We have opened up investments in various sectors. I do hope this (winter) session I will be able to pass the Insurance Bill," he said at the India Global Forum meeting in New Delhi.</div><div> </div><div>The month-long winter session of Parliament is scheduled to commence from November 24.</div><div> </div><div>FDI in the sector is capped at 26 per cent at present.</div><div> </div><div>Jaitley also said he hoped to begin a delayed programme to sell stakes in government owned companies "in the next couple of days".</div><div> </div><div>He said the government was aiming to bring down its equity in public sector banks to about 52 per cent.</div><div> </div><div>The much-delayed Insurance Bill has been referred to the Select Committee of Parliament. The Bill, which comes with a rider that the management control would rest in the hands of Indian promoter, has been pending since 2008 in the Rajya Sabha.</div><div> </div><div>The minister said India is pursuing the policy of allowing foreign investment with sectoral cap keeping in mind the requirements of the economy and the appetite of the Indian political system.</div><div> </div><div>"When we were in the government last time we opened up the sector. At that time, the political system had an appetite for a limited opening. We are now opening up the sector a little more," he added.</div><div> </div><div>Bowing to opposition pressure, the government had in August agreed to refer the Insurance Bill to the 15-member Select Committee. The committee is expected to submit its report by the third week of November.</div><div> </div><div>The reform, according to experts, could increase the flow of foreign investment to the tune of Rs 25,000 crore into the private insurance companies. The move would help insurance firms to get the much-needed capital from overseas partners.</div><div> </div><div>There are about two dozen private sector insurance firms, both in life and non-life segment in the country.</div><div> </div><div><div><strong>Goods and Services Tax</strong></div><div><span style="line-height: 1.4;">Jaitley also said that amendments to the goods and services tax (GST) law may be introduced in the winter session of parliament.</span></div><div> </div><div>"I am in the last stage of my discussion with the states on the eve of parliament session before introducing the amendments to the GST law in parliament," Jaitley said.</div><div> </div><div>The GST regime aims at subsuming most of the indirect taxes at the central as well as state level.</div><div> </div><div>The UPA government in 2011 introduced a Constitution Amendment Bill in the Lok Sabha to pave the way for introduction of GST.</div><div> </div><div>The GST rollout has missed several deadlines because of lack of consensus among states over certain crucial issues on the new tax regime.</div><div> </div><div>Pending since 2006, the discussion on GST Bill is stuck at a crucial stage where states have proposed to keep products such as petroleum, tobacco and alcohol out of GST ambit and had demanded the exemption list be included in the Constitutional Amendment Bill.</div><div><span style="line-height: 1.4;"> </span></div></div><div>(Agencies)</div>
