LIC aims to enrol 1 lakh Bima Sakhi in 12 months

New Delhi: State-owned Life Insurance Corporation on Monday said it is targeting to enrol 1 lakh Bima Sakhi in the next 12 months as part of its women empowerment drive.

Speaking about the scheme launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi here, LIC MD and CEO Siddharth Mohanty said the insurer will spend up to Rs 840 crore towards stipend in the enrolment done.

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"Bima Sakhi is expected to garner new business of five times of our spending. So we are hoping that they can bring Rs 4,000 crore new business in the first year," he said.

The stipend for the first year would be Rs 7,000 per month, Rs 6,000 per month next year and Rs 5,000 per month in the third year.

Mohanty said that Bima Sakhi will help in taking LIC to under-penetrated areas. Going forward, there is a plan of appointing one Bima Sakhi in every Gram Panchayat.

He exudes confidence in retaining market share despite regulatory changes.

Talking about proposed changes in the Insurance Act, he said, composite licensing boosts the industry and LIC has no issue with it.

The finance ministry has proposed to amend various provisions of the Insurance Act, of 1938, including raising foreign direct investment (FDI) in the insurance sector to 100 percent, and reducing paid-up capital among others.

The Department of Financial Services (DFS) has sought public comments on the proposed amendments by December 10.

As per the proposal, the FDI limit in Indian insurance companies will be raised from 74 percent to 100 percent.

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