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Fema, money Bills introduced in Lok Sabha

The much-awaited Foreign Exchange Management Bill which seeks to replace the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act 1973, was introduced by Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha in the Lok Sabha today.

The Opposition did not try to block the introduction of the Bill that aims at ''consolidating and amending the laws relating to foreign exchange with the objective of facilitating external trade and payments''. Orderly development and maintenance of foreign exchange markets in India is also part of the Bill's objective.

Giving the background of the Fema Bill, the finance minister said that replacement of Fera was conceived by the government after the 1993 Amendment, as the Act was not in tune with the economic liberalisation, particularly in respect of foreign trade and investments.

The present Bill is the result of a review of Fera by the Reserve Bank of India in the light of the new economic realities, he said in the statement of objects and reasons.

Sinha also introduced the prevention of Money Laundering Bill in the Lok Sabha today seeking to prevent and punish offences relating to money-laundering, confiscating proceeds of crime, compelling financial institutions to disclose such transactions and to set up agencies coordinating measures to combat money-laundering.

According to the statement of objects and reasons of the Bill, money-laundering has been posing a serious threat to the financial systems of countries, affecting their integrity and sovereignty.

The minister recalled that the international community had already taken several steps to obviate threats from money-laundering. The financial action task force meeting held in Paris in 1989 had called upon member-countries to make necessary legislations to combat money-laundering.

UNI