The GoI has approved FDI of upto 26% in the pension sector.
The change is contained in a proposed pension bill to be considered by parliament during the winter session which begins next week and is seen by investors as a key economic reform. The pensions bill would give global financial institutions access to around $2 billion worth of pension fund assets.
The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) Bill, if passed, will open the country’s pension sector to foreign players. Now, pension funds of over 10 lakh employees in the country are managed by domestic players such as LIC, 
State Bank of India, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Reliance Capital, but foreign companies have evinced interest in the country’s pension market.
The PFRDA Bill was first introduced in Parliament by the UPA government in 2005, but could not see the light of the day because of opposition from Left parties.
The government reintroduced the bill in March this year, which was subsequently sent to the standing committee, headed by former finance minister and senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Yashwant Sinha, for vetting. The BJP supports the bill.
IDFC, State Bank of India , ICICI Prudential Life Insurance, Kotak Mahindra Bank , Reliance Capital and LIC manage pensions in India.
Most of the 23 life insurance players in India, nearly all of which have a foreign partner holding a 26% stake, are eager to enter the pension fund market
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