IIMB signs MoU with IRDA

By Our Staff Reporter

BANGALORE, JULY 18. The Indian Institute of Management (IIMB), Bangalore will have international participation at its Centre for Insurance Research and Education, and the findings of such research will be made available to the Insurance Regulatory Development Authority (IRDA), Mr. N. Rangachari, Chairman, IRDA and Dr. Rammohan Rao, Director, IIMB, have said.

They were speaking to presspersons after the conclusion of the Fifth Asia-Pacific Insurance and Risk Association conference, here on Wednesday. Dr. Rammohan said that an MoU was signed with the IRDA that formalised such co-operation. The researchers would use the infrastructure at IIM's centre and the research would have a global outlook.

Mr. Rangachari expressed the hope that in time the centre would become a valuable resource centre not only for the academic world but also for the policy-makers in the field of insurance.

On the conference, he said that it was "truly universal" in nature, with international participation from industry, academia and regulatory bodies.

With respect to the "Indian scene," Mr. Rangachari said that the Insurance Amendment Bill, which had been ready for some time now, was likely to be presented in the coming session of Parliament.

On the issue of various norms governing insurance companies in India, he said that with the exception of some "local prescriptions", for example the mandatory requirement that a percentage of total business come from the socially and economically weak sections, "we have practices that match standards elsewhere in the world". The country had also benefitted from being a member of the International Association of Insurance Supervisors, he added.

Crop insurance

While general insurance was discussed at the conference, there was no place found for crop insurance in the meet. To a specific question, Mr. Rangachari said, ``No, it was not discussed''. He went on to say that ``there is no interest in crop insurance (among the insurance companies) because the (Union) government has taken up the task''. A separate Crop Insurance Corporation of India was likely to be set up and ``a Cabinet paper has been floated (for the purpose),'' he said. The Department of Agriculture was acting as the nodal agency.

In a market where interest (rates) were declining, he said: ``We are not encouraging insurance companies to promise high returns''. The LIC's Bima Nivesh would also return lower interests hence forth, he added. There would, however, be no change for the existing policy holders. He did not specify the date on which this would come into effect.

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