Ira Bill In Winter Session, Says Sinha

The Insurance Regulatory Authority (IRA) Bill will be introduced during the winter session of Parliament that begins on November 30.

Announcing this, finance minister Yashwant Sinha said vital issues related to the Bill were expected to be thrashed out at a meeting scheduled for later in the day of the group of ministers on insurance.

"We have not lost any time. There are certain loose ends which still need to be tied up. But we will keep our date with the winter session of Parliament as far as the IRA Bill is concerned," Sinha said in his address to Infranet `98, a three-day conference on infrastructure development organised here by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

He said state monopoly in insurance sector had deprived the country's infrastructure sector of much-needed long-term funds. "The insurance sector provides long-term funds for infrastructure. Unfortunately, we did not look at it in that light," Sinha said.

With the opening up of the insurance sector, Sinha said, the resource crunch for the infrastructure sector would become a thing of the past. Sinha picked availability of resources, along with pricing of infrastructure services and a regulatory framework, as the most important factor in the development of infrastructure.

With regard to pricing, the finance minister suggested a dual structure with one category of infrastructure services being subsidised for consumers and the other category being charged at market prices.

Stating that hidden subsidies had rendered many infrastructure projects unviable, Sinha said such subsidies should not be loaded on infrastructure projects.

"We do not even get a clear picture of the level of subsidies as they are hidden," Sinha said, adding that political factors had played a major role in increased subsidies.

About the regulatory framework, Sinha said the setting up of electricity regulatory authorities at the Centre and state levels was a step forward. A regulatory structure, he said, was essential to ensure that service providers as well as the consumers got a good deal.

Speaking to newspersons on the sidelines of the conference, Sinha said he was confident of raising the targeted Rs 5,000 crore through divestment in public sector undertakings in the current financial year.

The divestment process kicks off with shares of Container Corporation of India being offered in the domestic market soon. The pricing of the issue is being finalised.

"Initially, we will start divestment of Concor in the domestic market only. We will also push through the process in the other three companies I had named in my budget speech: Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd, Indian Oil Corporation and Gas Authority of India Ltd," he said.

The government would also like to move ahead with strategic sales planned for some units, the finance minister said.

"We would also look at the other units for which the Disinvestment Commission has given its recommendations," he said.