Strong LIC is needed for strong India: Mahapatra

Seminar on Nationalization Day of Life Insurance

Raipur(Team Newsbuddy): There is a need for a strong LIC for a strong India today because LIC has provided the foundation for a strong India by collecting domestic savings of the common people. The above words were said by Dr. Biplab Bandopadhyay and Dharmaraj Mahapatra in a program organized in Raipur on the occasion of Nationalization Day of Life Insurance on the call of All India Insurance Employees Association on January 19, in the series of various programs organized across the country on the theme of “Strong LIC for a Strong India”.

It is noteworthy that on 19 January 1956, the then Nehru government of the Centre issued an ordinance to nationalize the life insurance business in India and pave the way for the establishment of LIC. In this sequence, a seminar was organized today at the divisional office of LIC by Raipur Division Insurance Employees Union. Addressing it, renowned doctor and thinker Dr. Biplab Bandopadhyay said that after independence, public sector undertakings were established to take the country on a new path. This step paved the way for economic sovereignty along with the development of infrastructure in the country.

Life Insurance Corporation of India has made unprecedented progress since its inception and has provided abundant funds for the development of the basic sectors of the country including the five-year plans. But today, in the era of economic liberalization, along with the privatization of public and government industries, the process of disinvestment of LIC is being carried forward. These steps of the Central Government have posed a threat to the economic sovereignty of the country. The Left Democratic Movement of this country strongly opposes the proposed reforms in the insurance sector and appeals to the general public to repeal the nationalized insurance sector. Strengthen the struggle to protect the insurance industry.

General Secretary of Central Zone Insurance Employees Association Com. Dharmaraj Mahapatra, while throwing light on the history of life insurance industry in India since independence till date, said that there are more than 250 private life insurance companies in the country and they need to be stopped from looting the industry.
Today LIC has life insurance of more than 52 lakh crores, assets of more than 42 lakh crores and more than 30 crore policy holders which is a wonder for the life insurance industry of the whole world. Opposing the proposed Insurance Amendment Bill of the Central Government, he said that the proposed bill paves the way for the promotion of private Indian and foreign insurance companies at the cost of weakening the nationalized insurance industry.

He described the proposals of increasing the limit of direct foreign investment in the insurance sector from 74 to 100 percent, issuing composite licenses for agents, reducing the limit of solvency margin for private companies and allowing a single company to work in both life and general insurance sectors as harmful for the entire insurance industry. Addressing the gathering, R.K. Meena, local secretary of Vikas Adhikari Sangh, Shrikant Pendharkar, Divisional President of All India Insurance Pensioners Association, Arun Kumar Modi, Divisional President of Life Insurance Agents Federation of India, Secretary Satish Sharma and senior colleague of Pensioners Association, B.K. Thakur said that the ongoing attacks on LIC have created a new crisis for the entire insurance industry. Joint struggles are being taken forward by uniting the common people across the country against this and this struggle will intensify in the coming days.

During the seminar, all the agents present were felicitated by Raipur Division Insurance Employees Union and they were requested to make this day a historic success by providing maximum number of policies on Mega Events Day on 20th January. It is noteworthy that Agent Activation Day will be celebrated tomorrow on 20th January in Life Insurance Corporation of India. On this day, every agent has been appealed to provide at least one policy. It is estimated that by collecting lakhs of policies across the country, LIC is preparing to create a new record of collecting maximum number of policies in a working day. All India Insurance Employees Association has strongly appealed to make this call a success.

The seminar was successfully conducted by the organization’s general secretary Surendra Sharma. The proceedings of the seminar concluded with the vote of thanks presented by the organization’s president Rajesh Parate.