In a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha, Karad said the GST on health insurance premium is 18 per cent.
“The rate of GST is decided on the recommendations of the GST Council, which is a statutory body consisting of members from the Central Government and State Governments. Presently, no recommendation to reduce the GST rate on health insurance premium is under consideration of GST. Council,” he said.
Responding to another question, Karad said, the expansion of health insurance on a commercial basis is in the domain of insurers who, with the approval of their respective boards, formulate their business and growth strategies, and such expansion would lead to an economy of scale. Helps in bringing cost efficiency. ,
strengthening the regulatory mechanism for policyholder protection He said there is a function vested in the insurance regulator by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority Act, 1999, which reviews the rules on an ongoing basis in the light of their working experience and the needs of the insurance industry.
“While public health is a state subject and accordingly the state governments primarily undertake public health interventions from time to time, the central government has introduced Ayushman Bharat – Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana as a centrally sponsored scheme for annual family health cover. 5 lakh for 10.74 crore families (about 50 crore beneficiaries), thereby expanding health insurance coverage in a big way,” he said.
Replying to another query, he said, as per the Financial Stability Report (FSR) released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in July 2021, macro-stress tests indicate that the gross non-performing assets (NPAs) of scheduled commercial banks The GNPA) ratio (SCB), under the baseline scenario, may increase from 7.48 per cent in March 2021 to 9.80 per cent by March 2022.
“As per RBI’s inputs, the said GNPA ratio has arrived without factoring in the impact of policy actions. Hence, the actual movement of GNPAs of SCBs will depend on the extent to which such policy interventions are beneficial to the eligible borrowers. Take advantage of the central government and the RBI, which, in turn, facilitate revival of accounts under pressure,” he said.
In another reply, Karad said that in pursuance of the announcement in the budget speech for the financial year 2021-22, a proposal to set up a special purpose vehicle for monetization of non-core assets (additional land and property) is under consideration of the government.