New Delhi, March 24: The government today introduced a long awaited pension bill, which could lead to the entry of private funds in the pension business.

The PFRDA (Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority) bill was introduced after anxious moments when Left parties forced a division in the Lower House. The sectoral regulator has been operating through an executive order since 2003.

Surprise support from the principal opposition BJP saw the bill introduced without difficulty on a day of thin attendance on the treasury benches. The BJP, known to be more reform-minded than even the Congress, has often stalled key financial legislation such as the goods and services tax.

The treasury benches appeared to be caught unawares as Speaker Meira Kumar accepted a demand for a division on the introduction of the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority Bill, 2011 at the insistence of CPM MP Basudeb Acharia.

Division voting means the members move to two sides of the House depending on whether they support or oppose a motion.

Most Congress ministers, including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, could not make it to the House as the lobbies had been cleared for division voting and rules did not allow the entry of members once the lobbies had been ordered cleared.

The Congress leaders were supposed to reach the Lower House after visiting the Rajya Sabha.

However, with the BJP supporting the bill, its introduction was allowed by a vote of 115 members backing the proposed legislation against 43 opposing it and one member abstaining.

The PFRDA bill, which will empower the pension regulator and allow a pension fund to invest in the stock market, does not have any specific clause on foreign investment cap.

Officials said this could be later brought in through an executive fiat and was likely to be pegged at the FDI rate in the insurance sector.

The cap in insurance stands at 26 per cent, though the government is seeking to legislate an increase in the cap to 49 per cent.

Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee in the amendments to the finance bill earlier this week announced tax write offs to employers’ contribution to pension schemes.

The PFRDA bill had failed to get parliamentary approval in the previous term of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s government because of strong opposition from its then Left allies. However, there is sufficient consensus now among the UPA to pass the bill.

The bill empowers the PFRDA to oversee multiple pension funds in the country besides the new pension scheme which the government has introduced. All civil servants who joined service after January 2004 are covered by the National Pension Scheme.