FM hopeful of getting financial sector bills passed soon

The Monsoon session of Parliament is beginning on August 1.

"I think some (financial sector reforms) bills should be able to get through in the forthcoming session of Parliament," he said while talking to a select group of reporters in New Delhi.

"How many, I cannot say as it will depend. If in the first week I get the (Standing Committee) reports, then before the end of the session I will be able to get couple of bills passed," he said.

Some of the bills pending before Parliament are Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2008; The Life Insurance Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2009, Banking Laws Amendment Bill, 2011 and Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority Bill.

Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill 2008 seeks to hike the foreign direct investment cap in the insurance sector, currently pegged at 26 per cent, while the PFRDA Bill would give a legal backing to the interim regulator, PFRDA.

The bill on LIC seeks to raise the capital base of the entity to Rs 100 crore from existing Rs 5 crore.