Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday said India received FDI worth Rs 26,000 crore in the insurance sector after 2015 when the foreign investment limit was raised to 49 per cent from 24 per cent.

Replying to a debate on the Insurance (Amendment) Bill, 2021, Sitharaman said insurance companies are facing liquidity pressure and that is why the government was proposing to increase the FDI limit further.

She said the foreign direct investment (FDI) is aimed at supplementing the domestic long term capital.

Sitharaman said hike in foreign investment limit to 74 per cent will help meet the growing capital requirement of insurance companies.

The minister stressed that the bill to hike FDI limit in insurance has been brought after extensive consultations by sector regulator IRDAI.

The bill seeks to increase the FDI limit in the insurance sector to 74 per cent. The announcement regarding it was made by the minister while presenting the Union Budget on February 1.

Currently, the permissible FDI limit in life and general insurance stands at 49 per cent, with ownership and management control with Indians.