Govt readies amendments for insurance PSU privatisation

To facilitate privatisation of a public sector general insurance firm, the government is working on amendments to the General Insurance Business (Nationalisation) Act (GIBNA), and a Bill for that is likely to come up in the upcoming monsoon session. The monsoon session is expected to begin from July 19. The Act, which came into force in 1972, provided for the acquisition and transfer of shares of Indian insurance companies and undertakings of other existing insurers in order to serve better the needs of the economy by securing the development of general insurance business. The amendments to the GIBNA are being worked out and may be tabled in the upcoming session to help privatisation of a general insurance company announced in the Budget this year, sources said.