Interviews for GIC Re, National Insurance CMDs on Wednesday

The Finance Ministry has invited eight senior officials from state-owned general insurers for interview to fill up the two CMD posts in GIC Re and National Insurance Company (NIC) in the national capital on July 15.

While the post of the CMD at GIC Re will fall vacant by the end of this month when A K Roy retires, ending his three-year tenure, the post of CMD at NIC has been vacant since February, 2014.

The state-run general insurer has been making to do with acting CMDs since NSR Chandraprasad's retirement.

Presently, Rajesh Aggarwal, joint secretary in the Finance Ministry is its acting CMD.

Earlier, there were reports that as in the case of state-run banks, the government is planning to bifurcate the posts of CMDs at state-run general insurers as well.

But recently, the Finance Ministry scotched any such plan.

The ministry has also decided against calling candidates from the private sector unlike in the case of banks.

The eight candidates who have been called for interview include Sanath Kumar, Director and General Manger (GM) at New India Assurance; Girija Kumar, Director and GM at United India Insurance; Vasantha Krishna, Director and GM at NIC; Alice Vaidyan, GM at GIC Re; HG Rokre, a GIC Re official who is currently at IDBI Capital on deputation.

The others who have been invited are Sujoy Banerji, GM at Oriental Insurance Company; Segar Sampath Kumar, GM at NIA, and VE Kaimal, GM at United India, according to a Finance Ministry official.

A Finance Ministry panel headed by Banking Secretary Hasmukh Adhia will hold the interviews in New Delhi on Wednesday.

Last year, following some corruption charges (Syndicate Bank CMD was arrested and dismissed for his alleged role in a cash-for-loan scam involving Bhushan Steel in late 2013) and poor risk management practices which led to a massive spike in bad loans, the government, in a bid to bring about better corporate governance practices, had split the posts of CMDs into two - managing directors and CEOs and chairmen.

It has already filled up some of these posts.

On the same day, the Finance Ministry will conduct interviews for filling up the vacant post of the fourth MD of Life Insurance Corporation (LIC).

Senior LIC officials who have been called for the interview include Sunita Sharma (chief executive, LIC Housing Finance), Saroj Dikhale (chief executive, LIC Nomura MF), Venu Gopal (zonal manager, West), Vinay Sah (marketing director), and Sharad Srivastava (executive director, Northeastern zone).

Venu Gopal is the senior-most candidate whose retirement is due in 2019.