Govt Invites Applications for Post of IRDAI Chairman

 Mumbai: The government has invited applications for the position of chairperson at the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) as the tenure of the current chairman, Debasish Panda, will end on March 13, 2025. This ends the speculation on a possible extension for Panda.

The deadline for the submission of applications is April 6, per the notification from the Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Finance. In its advertisement, the department has sought applications from individuals with “knowledge or experience in life insurance, general insurance, actuarial science, finance, economics, law, accountancy, administration or any other discipline, which would, in the opinion of the Central Government, be useful to the Authority.”

The candidate should have a minimum 30 years of relevant work experience and must have worked as secretary to the Government of India or in an equivalent position with the government with “proven track record of leadership and authority in decision making”.

Applicants from the private sector are expected to have worked as CEO or in an equivalent position in a large financial institution. The applicant’s age should not be more than 63 years old as on the date of vacancy - March 14, 2025. The ministry notification stated that the consolidated pay and allowances for the new chairperson have been set at Rs 5,62,500 per month, without the facility of house and car.

Since he took office in March 2022, Panda has overseen significant reforms in India's insurance sector to facilitate growth, including the shift to principle-based regulations, the transition to a 'use and file' system, and new Expense of Management (EoM) Regulations. He also revised the Surrender Value norms mandating insurers to pay a special surrender value after policyholders have completed the full premium payment for the first year.