Union Budget 2019: Industry lobby FICCI for increasing FDI cap in insurance sector to 74%

New Delhi: The government needs to increase foreign direct investment cap in the insurance sector and multi-brand retail trading for products manufactured and sourced from India for attracting overseas inflows, industry chamber FICCI said on Thursday. “In line with 100 percent FDI in food retail, a similar policy could be considered for multi-brand retail in products that can be fully manufactured in and sourced from India,” FICCI said in its pre-Budget suggestions to the government. [caption id=“attachment_4292949” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. News 18.[/caption] It said that in the insurance sector, FDI cap can be increased from 49 percent to 74 percent. “To increase FDI flows in this sector, the clause pertaining to Indian management and control needs to be relooked. Reinsurance sector FDI can be restricted to 49 percent with Indian management and control,” it added. The body also said that there is a need to improve investor confidence about the surrounding ecosystem in the country to attract more FDI inflows. “Enforcement of contracts and arbitration process needs to be strengthened. Even when awards have been given, enforcing the awards remains a challenge,” it said. Further it said that India’s new Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs) with several countries are still to be renegotiated. “Having in place BITs enhances the confidence level amongst foreign investors,” it said. Follow full coverage of Union Budget 2019-20 here