Letters: LIC steps in

This refers to the report "SBI spared the blushes by LIC" (January 30). It would be appropriate to remember the words of C D Deshmukh, the former finance minister and the architect of nationalisation of life insurance companies, who wrote in his autobiography that if at all he was remembered, it should be for his efforts in nationalising life insurance. If today the Life Insurance Corporation is able to fund the investment needs of the government on such short notice, it's because it always laid emphasis on creating an agency network throughout India. Will the government now ensure that private insurance players also grow to similar heights? It is debatable because they are encouraging insurers who sell their products on the shoulders of banks. No wonder the new insurers do not wish to create an organisation at the grass roots level, and have closed several branches in the past three years. This is an issue that will impact the long-term growth of the life insurance industry.

S Subramanyan Navi Mumbai

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