Govt to decide on LIC chairman next week

The impasse over the top job at the country's largest life insurer, Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India, is set to end next week. The search committee, headed by R Gopalan, secretary, department of economic affairs, is expected to interview the shortlisted candidates this Wednesday.

According to sources, the shortlisted candidates for the chairman's post include acting chairman, D K Mehrotra, and four executive directors, Sushobhan Sarkar, A K Sahoo, T T Mathew and K B Saha. The three managing directors, Thomas Mathew, A K Dasgupta and T S Vijayan, are not in contention for the top post.

The uncertainty surrounding the chairman's post has hit the performance of the life insurer. Its first-year premium collection dived 28 per cent during the first three months of the current financial year.

In 2010-11, of the Rs 125,826 crore collected by the entire industry by selling new policies, LIC collected Rs 86,445 crore. LIC is also the largest institutional investor in the country and manages assets worth Rs 12 lakh crore.

When contacted, an LIC official said there was no official intimation from the government on the next chairman. Though there are no clear favourites, sources said Mehrotra, the most senior of the shortlisted candidates, was leading the race. The Central Bureau of investigation (CBI) is still enquiring into investments made by the corporation in 2008 and 2009. “T S Vijayan, former chairman, and Thomas Mathew, one of the current managing directors, have lost out,” said a source familiar with the developments. Dasgupta is not in the running for the post, since he is due to retire in January 2012.

Both Mehrotra and Sarkar joined LIC as direct recruits in 1977, and have a little more than two years of service remaining.

If Sarkar or any other executive director is appointed the chairman, it would be for the second time that an executive director would be directly elevated to the position of chairman. The first instance was when G N Bajpai was appointed chairman of LIC in September 2000.

The uncertainty over the insurance behemoth's top position started after

T S Vijayan was denied an extension and appointed a managing director, after his term came to an end on May 2. Subsequently, Vijayan went on leave and is yet to resume his duties.

As an interim measure, R K Singh, additional secretary in the finance ministry, was given the additional charge of LIC chairman, before D K Mehrotra was appointed as interim chairman, first for a three-month period on

May 27, and then again on August 26 for another three months.

The primary reason behind the delay in the selection process was the absence of clearances from the Central Vigilance Commission, a prerequisite for the appointment.

Source: Business Standard