Insurance, 8 other economic Bills to be taken up in Winter Session

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The government has listed nine economic bills, including a bill to amend Insurance Laws and two others to levy tax and cess on sin goods like tobacco and pan masala, for the Winter Session of Parliament beginning Monday.

Also, the first batch of Supplementary Demands for Grants for 2025-26 would be brought in during the Winter Session which is scheduled from December 1-19.

As per the list of Bills circulated with the members of Parliament for the upcoming session, the government proposes to introduce The Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2025, to raise the FDI limit in the insurance sector to 100 per cent, from 74 per cent, as part of new-generation financial reforms.

So far, the insurance sector has attracted Rs 82,000 crore through foreign direct investment (FDI).

Besides, The Central Excise (Amendment) Bill, 2025, and 'The Health Security se National Security Cess Bill, 2025' are listed for introduction by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the Lok Sabha on Monday.

The Bills seek to levy excise duty on tobacco products like cigarettes, by replacing the GST compensation cess.

The 'Health Security se National Security Cess Bill, 2025', will replace the compensation cess on pan masala. It seeks to "augment the resources for meeting Security expenditure on national security and for public health, and levy a cess for the said purposes on the machines installed or other processes undertaken by which specified goods are manufactured or produced".

Currently, Goods and Services Tax (GST) at 28 per cent is levied on tobacco and pan masala. A compensation cess at a varied rate is levied on top of this.

Besides, the Securities Markets Code Bill 2025, is listed for introduction, which will ensure a unified securities Market code for ease of doing business. The Bill seeks to merge the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992, the Depositories Act, 1996, and the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act, 1956, into a unified code.

The Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill 2025, which seeks to decriminalise certain minor offences to promote ease of living and business, will be taken up for discussion during the Winter Session. The Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha in August and referred to a Select Committee, which has been tasked to submit its report by the first day of the Winter Session.

The other economy-related Bills scheduled in the Winter Session are the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Bill, 2025, The Manipur Goods and Services Tax (Second Amendment) Bill, 2025, The National Highways (Amendment) Bill, 2025, and The Corporate Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2025.