India Post invites proposal for consultancy on setting up insurance arm

New Delhi: India Post has invited bids to appoint consultant for consultancy on setting up separate insurance services arm, according to official sources.

"The consultant will prepare project report on setting up of Postal Life Insurance (PLI) Strategic Business Unit (SBU), impact assessment, conversion into government owned independent company within Department of Posts (DoP) and overseeing implementation thereof," the source said.

The pre-bid meeting in this regard was held on September 18.

"All known players- Boston Consulting Group, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Ernst and Young, KMPG, Deloitte India etc were present," the source said.

Communications Minister Manoj Sinha early this month told PTI that the DoP has plans to set up insurance firm as a special business unit in two years.

At present, the postal department offers one of the oldest life insurance schemes for benefit of government and semi-government employees -- Postal Life Insurance (PLI), which was introduced in 1884.

Rural Postal Life Insurance (RPLI), introduced on March 24, 1995, provides insurance cover to people residing in rural areas, especially weaker sections and women living in rural areas.

As on March 31, 2017, there were 46.8 lakh PLI and 146.8 lakh RPLI policies across the country.