Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Oct 5: The insurance employees owing allegiance to All India Insurance Employees Association held a lunch hour demonstration in front of their respective offices here today to protest against the Central Government decision to increase the FDI in insurance sector from 26 percent to 49 percent and also against introducing FDI in pension.
The demonstration was led by Comrade A M Tantray Divisional president and Comrade Pawan Gupta its Divisional secretary of North Zone Insurance Employees Association.
Addressing the protestors Pawan Gupta strongly opposed the decision to approve the Insurance Laws Amendment Bill and PFRDA Bill.
He said the major amendments to the insurance laws are to increase the limit of FDI in Insurance Sector to 49 percent and to disinvest the public sector General Insurance Companies.
He said these moves are against the interest of the national economy and against the interest of the people whose savings are involved in insurance and pensions. The increase in FDI in insurance would lead to the increased control of the FDI over the savings of the people of India, he added.
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance said in its report placed before the Parliament on December 13 last year that “there is no need to increase the limit of FDI to 49 percent as the Government seems to have decided upon this issue without any sound and objective analysis of the insurance sector following liberalization”.
Cautioning the Government of the global financial crisis, the Committee has recommended to the Government that the private companies may explore avenues to tap the domestic capital instead of increasing the FDI limits, he added.
He said when this is the recommendation of the Standing Committee, the Cabinet decision to hike the FDI in insurance sector to 49 percent is clearly against all democratic norms.
Gupta said the Insurance Laws Amendment Bill also provides for disinvestments of the public sector General Insurance Companies. AIIEA opposes this move since it would weaken PSU general insurance companies and their strength to take up the social responsibilities.
He demanded that the Government should merge the four PSU general insurance companies and make them a single monolithic corporation to meet the goals set by the Government. Similarly FDI in pension sector would also make the pension funds vulnerable to exploitation by the foreign capital, he added.
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