Sunday, August 3, 2008

India to push reforms via executive orders for now

NEW DELHI, July 31 (Reuters) - India's ruling coalition will initially push financial sector reforms using executive orders and only later seek to get parliamentary approval for major policy changes, the finance minister said.

"We will continue to take executive action to push reforms. When we reassemble in parliament and tempers have cooled down, we can return to legislative reforms," Palaniappan Chidambaram said in the capital on Thursday.

The government is keen to dust off plans to boost foreign investment in private banks and insurance firms, policies which have been stalled for years, officials and analysts have said.

Communist parties, which had provided the Congress party-led administration with a majority, opposed the reforms.

But ever since they withdrew support over a nuclear energy deal with the U.S. and then failed to topple the government in a confidence vote, expectations have been growing of a renewed effort to lure foreign investment.

"I will reach out to every section of political parties and seek support for these bills," Chidambaram said.

The government may raise the foreign investment limit for the insurance sector to 49 percent from the present 26 percent, open up the pension sector further, and increase the voting rights of investors in private banks proportional to their shareholding.

But the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party has said it would try to block parliamentary approval for key economic reforms as the government did not have the "moral authority" to push through major decisions.

The confidence vote was marred by allegations lawmakers were bribed to abstain, and the government had to rely on the support of a small regional party to survive. (Reporting by Rajkumar Ray; Editing by Mark Williams)



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