The Government has finally decided to soon appoint chiefs in three public sector general insurance firms — New India Assurance (NIA), National Insurance Company (NIC) and United India Insurance (UII) as its much-talk about merger plan is likely to be put off this fiscal.

“As the merger plan of three PSU general insurers is unlikely, names of the three names are expected to be appointed for the post of Chairman and Managing Directors (CMDs) of the three insurance companies. While the positions for CMDs at National and United India are already vacant, New

India Assurance will become headless from next month as its CMD G Srinivasan will retire by next month,” sources in the know told The Pioneer.

“The three names that are doing the rounds include Atul Sahay of Oriental, Hemant G Rokade (General Manager & Director of New India) and Tajinder Mukherjee, who is currently working as GM of New India,” it said, adding that the name of New India GM, Girish Radhakrishnan who is currently posted in london, has been kept as standby. 

Keeping its merger plan, the Finance Ministry delayed the appointment and finally conducted the interviews of ten candidates in mid-May to select the new CMDs of three public general insurance firms - New India Assurance (NIA). National Insurance Company (NIC) and United India Insurance (UII).

While the post of CMD at NIC has fallen vacant as K Sanat Kumar retired in April, both the posts at UII and NIA will fall vacant when MN Sarma and G Srinivasan retire in May-end and July-end, respectively.

The Ministry of Finance had short-listed 10 names, such as Hemant G Rokade, General Manager & Director, NIA, three senior most GMs of Delhi-based Agriculture Insurance Company (AIC) —Malay K Poddar, Rajeev Chaudhry, Avinanda Ghosh —Dinesh Waghela, GM of GIC Re, Siddharth Pradhan, GM of NIA, Girish Radhakrishnan, GM of NIA, Atul Sahai,GM of Oriental Insurance Company (OIC), Tajinder Mukherjee, GM of NIA and SN Rajeswari, GM of NIA.

The Government’s move to fill up the posts of CMDs at NIC and UII, two of the merging companies out of the three — third being the Oriental Insurance Company — to create a new general insurance behemoth has once again the kept the industry guessing about the deadline for the mega merger that is supposed to be completed by the year end.

The next round top level vacancies in the industry will now happen in 2019 when Alice Vaidyan, CMD, GIC Re, PJ Joseph, member, IRDAI retire in July 2019 and January 2019, repectively.

However, state-run life Insurance Corporation(lIC) will see a series of retirements from September onwards including Usha Sangwan, MD, lIC, who will be retiring in September 2018 and VK Sharma, Chairman, retiring in December 2018 and other three existing MDs following them.