The All-India Insurance Employees' Association (AIIEA) has voiced strong opposition to the government's directive allowing private sector professionals to occupy senior positions in state-owned insurance companies, warning that the move could pave the way for increased private influence and eventual privatisation, reported Business Standard.
The association argued that appointing outsiders to top roles would undermine the morale of existing officers and erode the principles of nationalisation, which were intended to ensure that banking and insurance operate in the public interest rather than for private gain.
In a statement, the AIIEA said the revised guidelines “open the door to greater private control and the gradual privatisation of successful public sector financial institutions.”
The Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) currently has four managing directors (MDs) in addition to the MD and CEO. The government has announced that one of these MD positions will now be open to qualified candidates from both the public and private sectors. Similarly, the chairman and managing director (CMD) roles in state-owned non-life insurance companies will also be accessible to applicants from the private sector.