Cab Secy-led panel interviews candidates for IRDAI chairman post

A panel headed by the Cabinet Secretary today interviewed about eight candidates for the IRDAI chairman post that fell vacant in February after T S Vijayan retired on completion of his five-year term.
According to sources, former Corporate Affairs Secretary Tapan Ray and former Chief Secretary of Karnataka Subhash Chandra Kuntia are tipped to be front-runner for the insurance regulator post.
The Financial Sector Regulatory Appointment Search Committee (FSRASC) had shortlisted about eight names, sources said.
Other candidates who appeared for interview included New India Assurance chairman G Srinivasan and LIC chairman V K Sharma.
Others in the fray would be Insurance and Regulatory Development Authority of India (IRDAI) member (Life) Nilesh Sathe, National Insurance Company chairman and managing director K Sanath Kumar, and whole-time director of Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority B S Bhandari.

Vijayan, who completed his tenure on February 20, has served as chairman of LIC.

The FSRASC comprising Department of Personnel and Training Secretary and Financial Services Secretary will recommend the selected candidate to the Ministry of Finance, which will take the final call.
As per a public notice, the tenure of the chairman will be five years from the date of joining office.
The chairman shall not hold office beyond 65 years of age. However, the person would be eligible for reappointment and should have a minimum two years of residual service on the date of vacancy or not be more than 63 years of age on February 21, 2018.

The applicant is required to have at least 30 years of work experience and should have served as secretary to government or at an equivalent level in other institutions. Applicants from the private sector can also apply for the post and should have worked as CEO or equivalent of a large financial institution, the notification said.