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President stamps assent on insurance and forex bills

India's constitutional head, President K R Narayanan, has given his assent to the landmark insurance law.

The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority Bill was recently passed by both houses of Parliament during the winter session.

The legislation throws open the hitherto government-controlled insurance sector to private and foreign companies.

Narayanan had also given his assent to the Foreign Exchange Bill 1999.

These bills will now be known as the respective Acts.

The Foreign Exchange Management Act replaces the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act or FERA of 1973. FEMA envisages management, not regulation, of foreign exchange dealings.

Some foreign insurers have said it could take them more than a year to begin operations in India. Several official procedures need to be complied with before business licences could be obtained, they averred.

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