The government is set to appoint a full-time chairman of the Life Insurance Corporation of India within 10 days, a top finance ministry official said.
“It will take place very shortly… could be a week or 10 days,” financial services secretary D.K. Mittal said. He blamed the delay on the long selection process.
The LIC has been without a full-time chairman since May after the then chairman T.S. Vijayan’s five-year term ended.
As an interim arrangement, additional secretary in the finance ministry, Rakesh Singh, was appointed as the chairman. Subsequently, D.K. Mehrotra, the incumbent managing director was asked to officiate as the chairman of the country’s largest financial institution.
A selection panel, headed by economic affairs secretary R. Gopalan, had invited four candidates in June, but a decision could not be taken, as two of the contenders did not have central vigilance clearance.
On the names being discussed, Mittal said, “That’s for the selection committee to decide. What I am saying is that this process is on and very shortly you will get a final (decision).”
According to earlier reports, the shortlisted candidates — all from within the LIC — include current acting chairman D.K. Mehrotra, managing director Thomas Mathew and three executive directors — A.K. Sahoo, T.T. Mathew and K.B. Saha.
Several questions have been raised about the government’s inability to find a full-time leadership for the LIC, which has assets of over Rs 10 trillion, especially at a time it faces competition from private players since the opening up of the sector a decade ago.
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