FSIB selects new LIC Chairman; Siddhartha Mohanty to head

The Financial Services Institutions Bureau (FSIB), the headhunter for directors of state-owned banks and financial institutions, on Thursday selected Siddhartha Mohanty to head insurance behemoth LIC. As per the guidelines, the chairman is selected from the four managing directors of the company.

After interviewing four candidates based on their overall experience and extant parameters on March 23, 2023, FSIB recommended Siddhartha Mohanty for the position of Chairperson in LIC of India, the Bureau said in a statement.

Currently, Siddhartha Mohanty, managing director of LIC, is the acting chairman of the country's biggest life insurance firm after the completion of the term of MR Kumar on March 13, 2023. The final decision on the FSIB recommendation will be taken by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Mohanty would have retired on June 30, 2023 had he not been selected by the FSIB. However, as a chairman of LIC he would serve till the age of 62 years.

The government in 2021 extended the superannuation age of the LIC Chairman to up to 62 years by making an amendment to the Life Insurance Corporation of India (Staff) Regulations, 1960.

The changes made in the rules are called the Life Insurance Corporation of India (Staff) Amendment Rules, 2021.

It is to be noted that the retirement age for the top executives of the majority of PSUs is 60 years, barring a few exceptions, including the State Bank of India (SBI).

FSIB, the six members panel, is headed by the former secretary of the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), Bhanu Pratap Sharma.

Other members of the headhunter are the Secretary Department of Financial Services, the Secretary Department of Public Enterprises, IRDAI Chairman Debasish Panda, former LIC managing director Usha Sangwan and former Oriental Insurance MD A V Girija Kumar.