Postal insurance will be hived off

The Indian Post Office is all set to hive off its postal life insurance business into a separate entity by next year. There is speculation of it coming under Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority purview.

This effort will bring on more life products as well as avail of the investment opportunities offered to regular insurance companies.

An investment committee is in the making to look for a fund manager for deploying the funds collected from postal life and rural postal insurance schemes into various avenues for investment.

Mr. Shakeel Ahmed, minister of state for communication and information technology said that various amendments are being considered in the Postal Act and changes are likely to be introduced in the next session of the Parliament. The postal department last year recurred losses worth Rs 1,000 crore. Efforts are on to transform the post office into a finance hub along with the possibility of an all in all bank. The matter is being put forth for reviewing to law and finance ministers