Raise FDI limit to 49% in insurance sector: SMC

New Delhi: Pitching for raising the FDI cap in insurance segment to 49 per cent, financial solution provider firm SMC Global Securities said the move would help the sector become a USD 65 billion industry by 2014.

SMC Global Securities said the current size of the domestic insurance industry is estimated at USD 45 billion.

The firm has urged the UPA government to "initiate serious deliberations" with all it's constituents to increase FDIs limit in insurance sector to 49 per cent from the current level of 26 per cent.

Raising the limit would help the insurance industry grow at a much faster pace as also facilitate larger foreign direct investment, the company's Chairman and Managing Director Mr Subhash Chand Aggarwal said.

"With 26 per cent foreign equity element of FDI's in insurance business, not many foreign players are keen to make a foray in it ever since this industry was opened up for a limited.

He said negligible growth was witnessed in the last decade in insurance sector as far as foreign participation is concerned.

"If UPA government is able to garner support from its constituents to hike FDIs limit in insurance sector (at the earliest)...the size of insurance industry would jump up to over USD 65 billion by 2014," Aggarwal said.