LIC chairman gets one-year extension

Mumbai MR Kumar, Chairman, Life Insurance Corporation (LIC), has been given one-year extension by the government on Wednesday. Kumar was scheduled to retire this month-end after reaching sixty.

"The appointments committee of the Cabinet today has decided to provide one-year extension to Kumar," said an official communication from Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) on Wednesday.

ACC has approved the proposal of Department of Financial Services for extension of the term of Kumar as LIC chairman beyond his notified term which expires on June 30, 2021, till September 3, 2022, which is the date when he will be completing three years as LIC chairman, the notification added.

Analysts point out that Kumar's extension as the chairman will help the Corporation handle its mega IPO smoothly during the current year. Earlier, the government through an approval of ACC had extended the retirement age of LIC chairman from 60 to 62. On his extension as LIC chairman, Kumar will not be in the fray for IRDAI chairman, which was vacated recently. LIC chairman's post is equivalent to Secretary at the government and hence is the only eligible candidate from the insurance sector to apply for the post of IRDAI chairman, sources said.

It is learnt that 10 bureaucrats have applied for the IRDAI chairman's post which includes one Anup Wadhawan, who recently retired the post of Commerce Secretary.