Hours after the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government announced it was taking a grand initiative to re-energise the economy by fast-tracking infrastructure schemes, it had to eat humble pie. The PFRDA Bill meant to bring about pension reforms became a casualty to coalition politics.
The item was listed on the agenda for a crucial Cabinet meeting today but was deferred abruptly in the absence of a consensus. Cabinet ministers were taken by surprise and many were disappointed as they had expected the initiative would break the ice on economic reforms.
The Trinamool Congress, which has consistently opposed the Bill, managed to throw a spanner in the works at the last moment. The party ensured the item did not come up before the Cabinet.
| UNENDING JOURNEY |
| Aug 2003 NDA govt approves interim Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) |
| Jan 2004 Interim PFRDA set up with chairman and two members |
| Mar 2005 Govt tables PFRDA Bill, 2005 in Parliament |
| July 2005 Standing committee report on Bill tabled in Parliament |
| May 2009 Bill lapses, with dissolution of Lok Sabha |
| Mar 24, 2011 UPA govt introduces PFRDA Bill, 2011 in Parliament with BJP help |
| July 21, 2011 Standing committee discusses Bill after FM Pranab Mukherjee asks its head Yashwant Sinha for a report at the earliest |
| Oct 28, 2011 Committee submits report on Bill |
| Dec 2011 Mukherjee meets BJP leaders to seek support for Bill |
| Jun 7, 2012 Cabinet defers decision on changes in Bill |
Just before the meeting, most of the ministers were upbeat, having spotted the Bill on the agenda. Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh sounded cheerful and enquired from Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma (who is also in charge of the DIPP, which looks into all FDI-related policy issues) when the aviation FDI (foreign direct investment) policy would be taken up.
I&B Minister Ambika Soni, who has some FDI-related matters in the broadcast sector pending before the DIPP, was also heartened that the pension Bill was likely to be cleared.
But, when item number three, “the PFRDA Amendment Bill, as passed by the standing committee”, was to be taken up, Cabinet Secretary Ajit Seth announced “deferred” and moved on to the fourth item.
There were only three stolid faces in the room when that happened. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee knew it would not be taken up. The third was the Trinamool Congress representative, Railway Minister Mukul Roy, who made it to the meeting halfway through the proceedings. A senior minister recalled, “When it was listed the last time, it had to be deferred because Roy opposed the Bill citing the stand of his party. But today, Roy did not speak at all. As soon as the meeting got over, he left.”
In the 20-minute meeting, of the six listed items two were deferred and four taken up. The UN Millennium Development goals matter was not taken up in the absence of Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad.
According to persons familiar with the developments, Roy wrote a letter to Singh and Mukherjee late Wednesday night, stating “a broader political consensus was required” on the Bill. He also put on the record that the standing committee on finance that discussed the Bill had no Trinamool Congress representative. When contacted by Business Standard, Roy refused to comment on the issue, saying his party’s stand on the matter was “widely known”.
Financial Services Secretary D K Mittal was present at Shastri Bhavan to brief the media in the event the PFRDA Bill got cleared. But, the waiting reporters were told the briefing had been cancelled.
The Trinamool Congress is stridently opposed to pension sector reform on the grounds that it is against the interests of common people. It had asked the government to guarantee minimum returns to those who invested in pension schemes.
