By IANS,
Jaipur : The government would take economic reforms forward, finance minister P. Chidambaram said here Wednesday, a day after the ruling coalition won the trust vote in parliament.
“We will take economic reforms forward by passing pending bills relating to finance, labour and women and child development”, Chidambaram told reporters after inaugurating the Jaipur office of the Shriram General Insurance.
The Left had some serious objections to increasing foreign investment in the insurance sector from 26 percent to 49 percent. “We will reach out to all parties, including those who did not vote in favour of our government in the trust vote and try to pass the bill,” the finance minister said.
Asked what measures were being taken to check inflation, he said it was crude and commodity driven. “Even the prime minister has described it as imported inflation. It is not a new question…We have answered questions on inflation every week…nothing new to add…it is driven by crude oil and commodities…it is imported inflation…the answer to control is the monetary measures…it will take time”.
Earlier, in his address during the inauguration ceremony of the Shriram General Insurance office, an entity of the Chennai-based Shriram Group, Chidambaram said India was one of the most under-insured countries in the world.
“There is a need to spread general insurance in the country,” he said. “Our penetration of 0.6 percent and density of 1.4 percent is one of the lowest; we have to increase it as insurance is a good safety net too.”