New Delhi:
MR Kumar,chairman, Life Insurance Corporation(LIC) has been given an extension of nine months by the central government on Wednesday. Kumar was scheduled to retire this month end after reaching 60.
“The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet today has decided to provide extension upto March 2022 to Kumar,”said an official communication from Department of Personnel and Training(DoPT) on Wednesday.
Analysts point out that Kumar’s extension as the chairman will help the corporation to handle its mega IPO, which is likely to hit the street in last of the current fiscal,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.
Siddarth Mohanty, MD, who is retiring in June 2023, will be one of the top contenders for the chairmanship of the corporation after Kumar retires in March 2022..
According to the new criteria, LIC chairman can be appointed from among MDs, irrespective of their residual services, and executive directors will not anymore be considered for the selection of LIC chairman.
Earlier, in many instances, when incumbent MDs don’t have residual services of two years from the date of the vacancy of the chairmanship, an ED has been chosen as the chairman of the LIC.
Mr Kumar was zonal manger(in the rank of ED), North Zone (headquartered in Delhi), before he was selected as the chairman of the corporation in March 2019.
Siddarth Mohanty, 58,managing director, who could have succeeded Kumar in the orginal plan of succession, will now have to wait till March 2022