The Indian government's ambitious initiative to merge three of the four public sector general insurance companies in the market has gained steam. The merged entity, which is expected to be up and running by 31 March 2019 will control a third of the non-life insurance market and be listed on the Indian stock exchanges. The three companies National, United India and Oriental have a combined strength of 41,000 employees, 100,000 agents, 45m policyholders and 6,000 branches. We speak to Mr P C James, author and insurance expert on the benefits of the merger and what it holds for the future of the Indian non-life market.