India's finance minister introduced a long-awaited pension bill in parliament on Thursday that would pave the way for private players in the sector and help cut government spending.
The Pension Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) bill, which would allow part investment of the corpus in the stock market, will take time for parliamentary approval as the current session of parliament ends on Friday.
The bill had failed to get parliamentary approval in the previous term of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's government due to strong opposition from its then Left allies. The coalition has the majority now to get it passed, and the main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party has indicated it would not oppose the bill.
The proposed legislation was silent on allowing foreign companies to invest up to 26 percent in pension funds that was part of a draft, but said the government would separately announce foreign investment policy for the sector.