Contentious FDI Reform in Insurance Sparks Heated Debate in India

Indian parliamentarians clashed over a bill proposing 100% foreign direct investment (FDI) in the insurance sector. Opposition criticized it as a colonial mindset and a threat to social security. In contrast, BJP members supported the reform as a step towards modernization and universal insurance by 2047.

The Indian parliament witnessed a fierce debate on Wednesday over a bill proposing an increase in foreign direct investment (FDI) in the insurance sector to 100%. Opposition MPs decried it as reflecting a colonial mindset and slammed it as a potential threat to social security.

John Brittas, a CPI (M) MP from Kerala, accused the BJP government of hypocrisy, asserting that the proposed law contradicts their usual anti-colonial rhetoric. According to Brittas, the plan won't successfully attract foreign investments and pointed to the rupee's decline against the dollar as evidence of capital exodus.

On the other hand, BJP members defended the bill, emphasizing it as a reform necessary for achieving universal insurance coverage by 2047. Manan Kumar Mishra, a BJP MP from Bihar, termed it a service-oriented reform to extend insurance benefits across the nation, in line with the government's broader economic and social reform agenda.

(With inputs from agencies.)