Subhash Chandra Khuntia has taken over the reins from TS Vijayan as the Chairman of Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI). The post was lying vacant for three months as Vijayan’s tenure ended on February 21, 2018. The new chairman has stated that educating investors on benefits of insurance, increasing insurance penetration and expanding reach of government programmes would be among his top priorities.
Khuntia is a Karnataka cadre IAS officer belonging to the 1981 batch, and has vast experience of working in several departments of the Central and State governments. His previous posting was that of Chief Secretary of Karnataka, which he occupied from October 2016 to 2017.
Khuntia already has a lot to do. Even though the insurance industry has grown in double digits, the insurance penetration in the country is at a mere 3.49% in 2016-17; not even a 1% gain from the 2.71% that it was in 2001. Even the ratio of premium underwritten to the GDP in the country is below the global average.
There is also a lot of consolidation that is likely to take place in the industry, which the IRDAI is expected to monitor and approve. Apart from that, the adoption of IFRS 17 and the move to risk-based capital norms from the current solvency method are the two major issues facing the insurance industry that need to be addressed.
*Source: The Hindu Business Line
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