New Delhi:
The government on Sunday has appointed Neerja Kapur, 58, general manager, New India Assurance as the CMD of the company while Girija Subramanian, 56, general manager, GIC Re has been elevated as the CMD of Delhi based Agriculture Insurance Company(AIC).
Earlier, newly set up FSIB, the head hunting agency for selecting the top management of PSU banks and insurance companies, had selected Kapur and Subramanian for the top post of NIA, the country’s largest general insurance multinational and AIC respectively after interviewing seven general managers of PSU general insurers and GIC Re.
“Appointment of Kapur, GM, NIA, as CMD in NIA in the scale of pay of Rs. 2,05,400 — 2,24,400/- with effect from the date of assumption of charge of office and up to the date of her attaining the age of superannuation (i.e. 30.04.2024), or until further orders, whichever is earlier,” said a communication from Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC).
In a similar mannner, ACC has mentioned, “Appointment of Subramanian, General Manager, GIC-Re, as CMD in Agriculture Insurance Company of India Limited in the scale of pay of Rs. 2,05,400 — 2,24,400/- with effect from the date of assumption of charge of office and up to the date of her attaining the age of superannuation (i.e. 31.07.2026), or until further orders, whichever is earlier.”
Kapur had joined NIA in 1986 and has held many important positions including heading company’s London operations.
Industry observers say Kapur’s deeper insight about company’s functioning gathered over decades, will help her in repositioning the company at a time when the insurance regulator IRDAI has set a premium target of Rs 1 trillion for the company in the next five years, while government wants better profitability for the company.
Also very soon, NIA along with three other PSU general insurers will be implementing the restructuring strategies as prepared by E&Y.
Subramanian had joined GIC Re in 1988 and has exposure about technicalities of re/insurance operations.
Recently, AIC, which has been a purely an agriculture insurer till now, has been allowed by the IRDAI to expand its footprint covering entire gamut of agriculture and allied activities.