Govt hopes to pass bill to bolster futures
The Centre hopes to pass the Forward Contracts (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2010, during the upcoming monsoon session.
The Centre hopes to pass the Forward Contracts (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2010, during the upcoming monsoon session.
The bill seeks to transform the role of the Forward Market Commission (FMC) into an independent regulator (similar to Sebi, which regulates the stock markets).
The bill to amend the Act, which has been stuck since 1988, was stalled after strong objections from the Left during the UPA government's previous tenure.
The Left has been blaming the futures markets for high food inflation, calling for essential commodities to be kept out of speculative trading.
Commodity futures or forward trading are contracts whereby traders buy or sell food items at an agreed price but actual delivery takes place at a future date on anticipation of demand.
An efficient futures market is said to curb price volatility, but they are also blamed for higher prices through speculation.
The government itself has clamped bans of futures of several commodities to control inflation. Through 2000-10, the government had banned futures trading in two key pulses varieties - urad and tur - to control their prices.
The Forward Contracts (Regulation) Amendment Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha in 2006, after which a parliamentary standing panel vetted it.
Following extensive consultations, the consumer affairs ministry introduced the Forward Contract (Regulation) Amendment Bill in 2010.