Executives, babus vie for Irdai chairman’s post

A government-appointed high-level search committee is learnt to have identified the best performing CMD of the insurance sector for the Irdai chairman's post.

It is, however, expected that the top post at the insurance regulator may be offered to a retired or working bureaucrat. The post at the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (Irdai) has fallen vacant after Subhash Chandra Khuntia, a former chief secretary of Karnataka, completed his three-year term on May 6 this year.

According to a finance ministry source, technically, no other chairman and managing director (CMD) of any state-run insurance firm, except LIC chairman, is eligible for the post, which is equivalent to the Union secretary post. "As all the heads of state-run insurers are having the rank of additional secretary, the search committee has the power to consider a relaxation in case it finds an eligible candidate therein," the source said.

"Many heavyweights, like retired and working bureaucrats, and a few heads of insurers have applied for the Irdai chairman post. The selection committee will vet them. The final announcement for the post will come soon," the source added.

It is learnt that Anup Wadhawan, commerce affairs secretary, who will be retiring this month-end, is another name doing the round for the coveted post. Wadhawan had a good stint in the Department of Financial Services earlier as a joint secretary in charge of the insurance sector and was also an acting chairman of the PFRDA, the pension regulatory body.

Among the serving and retired IAS officers who are believed to have applied for the top regulatory job are B.V.R. Subrahmanyam (1987 batch), who recently joined as secretary, Ministry of Commerce

after having served as a chief secretary of J&K since 2018, Manoj Parida (1986 batch), advisor to the administrator of Chandigarh, V.P. Joy (1987), chief secretary, Kerala, Chhabilendra Roul (1985), former secretary, Department of Fertilisers, and Preeti Sudan, (1983-batch) who retired as the Union health secretary in July 2020.

The name of Injeti Srinivas is also doing the rounds in the government circuit. Srinivas is currently the chairman of the International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA), located in GIFT City, Ahmedabad. Srinivas was also a former secretary of Ministry of Corporate Affairs and was instrumental in pushing through significant reforms in the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code and the Companies Act.

Irdai members such as K. Ganesh and T.L. Alamelu have also applied for the post. LIC chairman M.R. Kumar, who has got oneyear extension of late, has also applied for the post. The other applicants for the post include Rajesh Relan, former head of PNB Met Life, who is currently the CMD of Ecomoney Insurance, and S.S. Gopalarathnam, MD of Chola MS General Insurance.

The government is yet to decide on the date of the interaction to be held for the post.