Consumer Price Index

Index for April is 186, May is 187, & June is 189. DA shall rise by 8 slabs (1.20%) w.e.f. August 2011.

BMS efforts pay dividends

BMS EFFORTS START PAYING FRUIT!

        You all are aware that the BMS affiliated unions in LIC, viz; NOIW, NOINO; NOIP & BLIAS are in the midst of a sustained campaign mounted against the nefarious designs of the Central Government bent on killing the golden goose of LIC to benefit the Private Life Insurers & Foreign companies. The Central Government has proposed six amendments in the Insurance Act, 1938 & LIC Act, 1956 the combined effect of which will strangulate LIC. The amendments by the Central government seek to:-

1. Increase FDI in Insurance Industry from 26% to 49%.
2. Reduce bonus to policyholders from 95% of surplus to 90% & at the same time utilize (by the government) the extra 5% for any purpose & in any manner.
3. Divest LIC of its powers of opening of branch or divisional offices.
4. Divest LIC of its powers of recruiting its agents & framing rules/regulations of their service conditions.
5. Remove the sovereign guarantee of the Government from the policies.
6. Increase the capital of the government first from 5 crores to 100 crores & then to any extent by a mere notification (which would be the first step of listing the shares of LIC & throwing open to private & foreign life insurers.

  Sensing trouble, the BMS affiliated unions in LIC began their efforts in earnest three months back. We shot detailed memorandums to all MP’s. We also met Shri Chandan Mitra & Shri Prakash Javadekar, both Rajyasabha MP’s & Shri Nitin Gadkari, President BJP a month back & apprised them of the dangerous consequences of these amendments. All of them promised to help us in this matter. Shri Prakash Javadekarji who is also the President of NOINO took lead in this matter & has talked to Shri Yashwant Sinha who is the chief of the committee to which this Bill has been referred to. We have also conducted educative seminars on this subject in Nagpur on 18^th July 2011 & in Mumbai, Kolkata on 23^rd July 2011. The activists of the BMS affiliated unions in LIC have fanned across the country & conducted whirlwind whistle-stop tours to create awareness among the employees & policyholders alike. We have also planned a massive ‘Maha-Dharna’ on 1^st August 2011 at Delhi in front of Parliament. All this has started having the desired effect.

         We have been informed by reliable sources that the government is on the back-foot regarding the increase in FDI in Insurance Industry whereas the Economic Times of 27^th July 2011 has quoted a government official saying that the Amendment no. 4 & 5 may be held back. While we do not want to jump the gun, & draw hasty conclusions, there are indications that our efforts are starting to pay dividends. However, we will not be off-guard & complacent. Instead we will raise the tempo of this movement to fight back all the proposed amendments. We will keep you posted of the latest developments. We solicit your valued support in this struggle.

Scanned image of the news-item in Economic Times dated 27 July 2011

Why we oppose the proposed amendments in LIC act

WHY DO WE OPPOSE THE PROPOSED AMENDMENTS IN LIC ACT, 1956?

The four organizations in LIC affiliated to BMS, the largest Central Trade union in the country viz; National Organization of Insurance Officers (NOINO); National Organization of Insurance Workers (NOIW); National Organization of Insurance Pensioners (NOIP) & Bharatiya Life Insurance Agents’ Sangh (BLIAS) have always been in the forefront in raising the issues concerning the LIC employees/officers/agents & following it up till its logical end. We now, request your attention to a different subject. This is a matter of life & death for the Nationalised Insurance Industry & the gravity & seriousness of the subject should not be ignored by all concerned.

You will recall that NOIW & NOINO had observed a day-long strike on 23^rd December 2008 to oppose the hike in FDI in Insurance from 26% to 49%. We all are also aware of the diligent efforts & valiant attempts by the trade unions in LIC & GIC to thwart privatization of Insurance Industry. The efforts were successful to the extent that the government could not introduce the hike the FDI to the extent of 49% as was intended. However, the danger has again started lurking.  We are explaining below our stand on why we are opposing the impending amendments to the Insurance Act, 1956.

PROPOSED AMENDMENT NO. 1

TO RAISE THE MINIMUM CAPITAL OF LIC FROM 5 CRORES TO 100 CRORES WHICH CAN BE FURTHER ENHANCED BY NOTIFICATION

Ostensibly, the logic is that the IRDA regulations stipulate that minimum capital of Insurance companies should be 100 crores to provide for solvency margin in line with the business size.

However,

1) All LIC policies already have sovereign guarantee of the Government.

2) LIC has already earmarked over 30000 crores as solvency margin.

3) The provision in the proposed amendment that the ‘minimum capital can be further enhanced by notification’ (which means without debate or discussions in Parliament or otherwise) has dangerous overtones & we apprehend a move to corporatize the Corporation in future.

PROPOSED AMENDMENT NO. 2

To vest powers of opening of branch offices/divisional offices with IRDA instead of the prevalent regulation of vesting this power with the respective Zonal Manager

Our feeling in this matter is that this means centralization of powers with the IRDA. When the need of the hour is to spread the message of Insurance widely, the decision of opening of branch offices & divisional offices are to be taken at ground level that too quickly & not by vesting these powers with IRDA & get stuck in red-tapism. LIC has been discharging its duty all these years with admirable efficiency & this amendment will effectively snatch its freedom of expansion. Hence we oppose this amendment vehemently.

PROPOSED AMENDMENT NO. 3 

To distribute 90% of the valuation surplus to the policyholders instead of the existing 95% of the valuation surplus. 5% of the valuation surplus to be credited to a separate account which the Central Government may utilize for any purpose or in any manner that it thinks fit. The remaining 5% will be paid as dividend to the Government.

The following points should be noted:-

1. The policyholder will get lesser bonus & hence he will be alienated from LIC to that extent as till now he was guaranteed 95% of the valuation surplus. This will affect LIC’s credibility & image which will ultimately affect the business.
2. If the purpose of creating a separate account is to create a statutory reserve fund for the policyholders LIC has already earmarked over 30000 crores as solvency margin which is sufficient to cover any contingency.
3. The clause that the Government may utilize the fund for any purpose & in any manner is fraught with danger.

  Hence we oppose this proposed amendment.

PROPOSED AMENDMENT NO. 4

Instead of full sovereign guarantee by the Central Government to all LIC policies, the words ‘to the extent, the Central Government, may determine from time to time’ will be substituted

The following points should be noted:-

1. The proposed amendment clearly speaks of the intention of the Government to reduce the extent of full guarantee. While this itself is objectionable, we also apprehend that in the future, the guarantee will be fully removed.
2. What are the possible consequences of the dilution/removal of the full sovereign guarantee?
1. Though it is a fact that the Sovereign guarantee by the Government never had to be invoked due to the strong fundamentals of LIC, the dilution/removal will definitely shake the confidence of the policy holders.
2. LIC has played a crucial role in nation-building with its huge investment in public Infrastructure. It has also been a very important stabilizing factor in the volatile market. With the huge fund it possesses, its role will be more crucial in the days to come. Barring a few exceptions, the private insurance companies have failed. Hence, the need of the hour is to give some more incentives to LIC, not to cut its limbs by diluting & removing the sovereign guarantee on LIC policies.

PROPOSED AMENDMENT NO. 5

To divest the Central Government of its powers of framing the rules regarding the terms & conditions of  service of the agents. Similarly to divest LIC of its powers of framing the rules regarding the method of recruitment & conditions of services of the agents

             Apparently there seems to be no logic in this proposed amendment except for depriving the agents of the statutory protection & redressal mechanism. It is also not clear who will then frame the rules regarding the agents. It can be safely assumed that the Government wants to pass this role to IRDA. A very important point here is that a Welfare State (Central Government) cannot deny its role of providing employment to the unemployed in our country. LIC has about 14 lakh agents in its fold. The terms & conditions of the services & method of recruitment should therefore vest in the Central Government & LIC only. 

PROPOSED AMENDMENT NO. 6

To hike the FDI in Insurance Industry from 26% to 49%

           The following points should be noted:-

1. On one hand, the government is proposing to increase the equity capital of LIC from 5 crores to 100 crores, & on the other hand the foreign capital would be increased in private sector to 49%. We apprehend that in future the Government will increase its share of Paid-up equity capital to an unlimited extent & then sell its share to the public including foreign companies, there-by converting LIC into a private limited company. This will lead to grave economic crisis.
2. Is it not a fact that the majority of the private Life Insurance companies are in the red & the hike in FDI is to give them a fresh lease of life?

      We urge one & all to ponder seriously over the above points. We should not only think & act to save LIC but also to save the Nation. We once again urge you to join & support the Maha-Dharna organized by NOINO/NOIW/NOIP/BLIAS on 1^st August 2011 at Delhi to protest the amendments to the Insurance Act.

Annual GB meeting of Indore Divl Unit held

The Ist Annual General Body meeting of Indore Divisional Unit of NOINO was held in Indore Divisional Office premises on 23/07/2011. The meeting was attended by good no. of officers – members as well as invitees.

The minutes of previous interim meeting held in Sept. 2010 was read and approved. The Divisional Secretary Shri Verma read out the activity of the Indore Unit during last year & also spelt out plans for future. Members were informed about proposed amendments in LIC act & action-plans of NOINO at Delhi & subsequent Dharna on 1st August 2011 under the leadership of Shri Prakash Jawdekar, MP and NOINO President, in front of parliament.

A new body of office-bearers was also elected unanimously details of which are being given below:

 President: Shri Raju Kalra, Manager(Claims), Divl Office

 Vice President: Shri Anil Soni, AAO, DAB

 Divisional Secretary: Shri Vivek Verma, AAO(Sales), Divl Office

 Treasurer: Shri D.P. Chejara, Manager(B&AC), Divl Office

 Executive Committee Members :

          Smt. J. Kale, Manager(C-zee) - Lady Wing

          Shri Dilip Pande, Manager(B&AC) – Dhar & Ratlam

          Shri S. Ghosh, Manager(IT) - Ujjain

The meeting concluded with vote of thanks by Shri Anil Soni.

BMS foundation day

NOINO is an affiliate of BMS (Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh), the largest Central Trade Union organization in India.

Today is BHARATIYA MAZDOOR SANGH’s foundation day. BMS was founded on 23rd of July, 1955 – the day being the birth anniversary of Lok Manya Bal Gangadhar Tilak – veteran of Freedom Movement. BMS in 1955 existed only in the minds of a few determined persons who assembled at Bhopal under the guidance of Shri D.B. Thengadi – a thinker and intellectual, who had even earlier dedicated accepting the noble principle of self abnegation, his entire life to social work. He collected a band of determined workers around him to work for the organisation selflessly.

BMS is significantly represented in most of the bipartite/tripartite labour and industrial committees/Boards constituted by the Central Government including Indian Labour Conference (ILC), Standing Labour Committee, Central Board for Workers Education, ESI, EPF, National Productivity Council, National Safety Council, Negotiation Committees of Public Sector Undertakings and the consultative machinery of Government employees and various other Committees / Boards. BMS also leads the delegation of Indian workforce in the Conferences of International Labour Organisation (ILO).

On the foundation day of this great organization we convey our GREETINGS to you!

Instructions for Dharna at Delhi on 1st August

Necessary instructions for attending Dharna

Please note the following guidelines in respect of Dharna at New Delhi on 1^st August 2011:

1.     Before you start your journey for Delhi, please submit your leave application in office. The reason of leave should invariably be “to attend organizational (NOINO) meeting at Delhi”.

2.     The stay arrangements have been made at:

  Ambedkar Bhawan,
 Rani Jhansi Road,

 (Near Paharganj Police Stn)

 (Aaram Bagh Area)
 New Delhi-110055

       It is only 2.5 km away from New Delhi Railway Station (Paharganj side). The auto-rickshaw fare by meter would be Rs.30/-(approx.). It is equally distant from Connaught Place, the central place of New Delhi / Delhi. The Metro Station is "Ram Krishna Ashram Marg" on Blue Line Metro (towards Dwarka); only one station away from Connaught Place (Rajeev Chowk) Metro Stn.

3.     Stay arrangements have been made from afternoon of 31^st July to morning of 2^nd August. Anyone staying beyond that (prior or after) will have to make his own arrangement for stay.

4.     Food arrangements have been made as below:

31.07.2011: 8.30 to 9.30 p.m.: Dinner

01.08.2011: 5.30 to 6.30 a.m.: Tea

01.08.2011: 7.30 to 8.30 a.m.: Heavy Breakfast (as there is no provision for lunch)

01.08.2011: 8.00 to 9.00 p.m.: Dinner

02.08.2011: 6.00 to 7.00 a.m.: Tea

02.08.2011: 8.00 to 9.00 a.m.: Breakfast

Any meal beyond above will have to be borne by the participants themselves.

5.     The Dharna will be at Jantar Mantar which is only 100 meters away from Connaught Place; virtually it is at Connaught Place itself. The mode of travel from stay place to dharna place will be communicated in the morning of 1^st August. Participants are required to reach the Dharna place i.e. Jantar Mantar by 9.30 a.m. There is no arrangement of food and water at Dharna place from our side. As such, participants are advised to keep at least a bottle of water with them. There are many food-stalls available nearby; so, if required, participants may purchase food articles from there. The Dharna will continue till 5.00 p.m.

6.     The participants are requested to please bring at least one banner each of their Units with them.

7.     For any difficulty / further query, please be in touch with:

(a)   Shri S.K.Saini, Zonal President, NOINO, NZ. Mobile No.09868374583,

(b)   Shri Rajeev Kr Sharma, Zonal Secretary, NOINO, NZ. Mob.No.09811902770, and

(c)     Shri Yashpal Singh, Zonal Org.Secretary, NOINO, NZ. Mob.No.09899668750.

All Zonal Secretaries are requested to please circulate the above instructions among the participants as early as possible, preferably immediately, so that they can make their preparations accordingly.

Office-bearers of our North Zonal Unit, in collaboration with NOIW activists, are taking all-out efforts to make your stay comfortable at Delhi. As such, you are requested to ensure maximum no. of participation in the Dharna and make it a grand success.

Information sharing meeting of Mumbai DO-IV

The Management of Mumbai Division IV had organized an information sharing meeting on 18.7.11 at 2.30 pm on the issue of proposed shifting of Mumbai DO 4 to Saanpaada in Navi Mumbai & had solicited the opinion of the employee organizations. The management was represented by SDM Shri Subhash Chander, Manager (P & IR), Smt Shanta Krishnan; Manager (OS), Shri P Raghani & other officers. NOINO was represented by Shri Dattaraj Prabhukhanolkar, GS, NOINO, Mumbai unit & Smt. Saroj Kurdukar, EC member, NOINO, Mumbai unit.

The SDM in his speech said that WZO had proposed to purchase premises at Sanpada area in Navi Mumbai to shift MDO-4 in that premises; the area of proposed premises was 18,000 sq.ft. and all deptts of MDO-4 was to be accommodated in the area. He gave the following reasons for the proposed shifting:-

1. LIC should have its presence in all geographical areas.
2. LIC should expand its operation by starting offices in various areas.
3. LIC should go for purchasing new properties for its functioning.
4. The area was convenient and accessible from all corners. It was also connected by local train as well as road.
5. It would not be difficult to operate the business from long distance because many of the functions were on machines.

NOINO’S STAND ON THIS ISSUE

Speaking on behalf of NOINO, Shri Dattaraj Prabhukhanolkar said that NOINO was strongly opposed to the proposed shifting. He raised the following objections in this regard:-

1) Meeting was called by the management on short notice (i.e. today at 1 p.m.) and the agenda was not intimated in advance. He said that such things should not happen in future.

2) Management had insisted for only 1 representative while inviting which led to the feeling that management was not serious about the matter.

3) He inquired as to what was the actual reason for shifting of MDO-4 and expressed that there were indications that CO was in need of extra space & hence the proposed shifting.

4) NOINO demanded that management should first take initiative to resolve the existing problems faced by employees and officers. Various Branches in the Fort area are working in horrible condition and the priority should be to provide good working atmosphere in branches.

5) NOINO also raised the point as to how the management was going to help branches in improving the conditions after shifting to a long distance when management had failed to help them when presently the divisional office was nearer.

6) NOINO also pointed out that the Saanpaada area fell under jurisdiction of Thane Division and expansion of LIC in those areas was to be taken care by that Division.

7) NOINO suggested that instead of shifting Mumbai DO-4, the management should open new divisions in Navi Mumbai & Raigad Dist. area by splitting Thane Division.

8) Shri Prabhukhanolkar also raised the issue of Information Sharing Meeting to be held regularly by the management.

9) He stated that NOINO was not opposed to purchase of the premises, but, not for Mumbai DO 4, rather for other purposes. He further said that there should be transparent policy in these matters and space should also be purchased for sufficient staff quarters in Mumbai and Thane area.

10) NOINO drew attention to the point that the operations from longer distance were not possible and at present the divisions which were operating from distant places were facing the problems in functioning.

The SDM agreed that various issues remained unattended and needed to be focused in near future. He also agreed to arrange for Information Sharing Meeting at DO IV at regular intervals. He agreed to forward the suggestions and opinions given by all the Unions to WZO.

Shri Dattaraj Prabhukhanolkar also said that the issue would be discussed within the Organization and the matter would be put before Zonal & National office-bearers for further action.

Study Class / Workshop at Satara (Maharashtra)

Notice to Zonal Presidents/Secretaries

All Zonal Presidents/Secretaries,

NOINO West Zone has organized a 2-day Study Class / Workshop on 15^th & 16^th August 2011 at Satara (Maharashtra) for their office-bearers and activists from all over West Zone. A large no. of activists (approx. 200) is likely to attend the workshop. They are covering wide range of subjects related to Trade Union activities like:

(a)  Drafting of Charter of Demands for wage-revision including arriving at the revised Basic Pay etc after merger of DA etc on the effective date of revision;

(b)  Communication skills – oral & writing both;

(c)  IT related jobs – how to prepare email-id-groups, how to forward mails, how to check website / social networking sites etc;

(d)  Organizational strategies – line of action, gate-meeting, poster campaign, liaison with sister organizations etc;

(e)  Organizational skills – how to deliver speech, how to deal with senior officers etc;

(f)   Basic educative knowledge of the Organization;

(g)  Stress management; etc… etc.

They are also calling experts (in-house and also guest faculties) on the subjects being covered. As a whole, the study-class will be very purposeful.

We wish that 2 activists, preferably Zonal President and Zonal Secretary, from each of the other 7 Zones participate in this study-class. Our motive of asking them to attend the study-class is that after going back to their respective places, they train their people. Further instructions / advices in this regard will be given in the class itself as the undersigned will be present there for the full period. If, for any reasons, the Zonal President and / or Zonal Secretary of any Zone is not able to attend the workshop, he may nominate any other activist from his Zone who, he thinks, is capable of grasping the subjects and delivering those before others.

You are, therefore, requested to book your tickets for Satara immediately so as to reach there by 8 a.m. on 15^th August 2011 i.e. Monday. The classes will be over by 6 p.m. on 16^th August 2011; you may, therefore, get your return-journey tickets booked for the trains / buses available thereafter.

We shall be intimating you the venue etc for the workshop well before time. However, for any further queries you may please contact our West Zone Secretary Shri Vishwas Shastri on his mobile no. 09822463687 or at his email id v.shastri@licindia.com .

Please send confirmation of your booking to me as also Shri Vishwas Shastri at the earliest so that necessary arrangements for your stay etc can be made at Satara. The present days, being lean period for railways, we hope, any of you will not have any reservation problem if the booking is done immediately.

Ganesh Kamath,

General Secretary,

NOINO

Delhi DO-1 Divl Committee reconstituted

A meeting of NOINO members of Delhi DO-1 was held on 16-07-2011 at 2 p.m. at Jeevan Prakash, KG Marg, New Delhi. Representatives from NOINO, NZ Committee -Shri S K Saini, Zonal President; Shri H K Dhiman, Zonal Vice President; and Shri Yash Pal Singh, Zonal Org. Secretary were present during the meeting. The meeting was presided over by Shri S K Saini, ZP and the proceedings of the meeting were run by Shri Yash Pal Singh, ZOS.

The Divisional Committee was reconstituted unanimously consisting of following office-bearers:-

1.    President: Shri N B Mahapatra, Mgr(PS/EDMS), Divl Office

2.    Vice President: Smt. Sunita Monga, AO, BO-31C

3.    Secretary: Shri V P Malkania, AAO, BO-115

4.    Organizing Secretary: Shri Kuldeep Kumar, AE, OS deptt, Divl Office

5.    Jt Secretary: Smt. Rekha Khullar, AAO, BO-112

6.    Treasurer: Shri Rajesh Bhardwaj, AO, BO-11C

7.    Asstt Treasurer: Shri Balbir Singh, AO, BO-11X

8.    EC Members: Shri Bhagwan Singh, SrBM, B0-31A

              Smt. Vandana, Mgr(Claims), Divl Office

              Shri A R Roy, AO(PS), Divl Office

              Smt. Roopa Bhalla, BM(B&AC), Divl Office

              Smt. Madhu Keshwani, AO, BO-11S

In the meeting the Zonal Org. Secretary advised the newly elected team to convey the message to all the officers working in the offices under Delhi DO-1 to use the divisional platform of NOINO for resolving their individual / common problems. “The main aim of NOINO is that every officer of the Corporation feels comfortable and enthusiastic in discharging their duties”, he further said.

The newly elected President Shri N B Mahapatra and Secretary Shri V P Malkania also addressed the gathering. The meeting concluded with vote of thanks by Shri H K Dhiman.

UPA (Congress) Govt on Mumbai Blast

News-item in Dainik Bhaskar

Promotion to AAO under 1(b)

As per our information, it is likely that the age limit for promotion to the cadre of AAO under Item 1(b) would be raised to 45 years. The Government is likely to notify this amendment in the near future.

Insurance regulator slaps Rs 70 lakh fine on SBI Life

CHENNAI: The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) has imposed a fine of Rs 70,00,000 on SBI Life Insurance company for paying around Rs.204 crore to eight of its corporate agents and six master policyholders, far in excess of the stipulated levels.

In an order Friday, IRDA asked SBI Life Insurance to pay the penalty within 15 days.

SBI Life Insurance is a 74:26 joint venture between State Bank of India (SBI) and BNP Paribas Cardif .

According to IRDA, payments were made by SBI Life in violation of laid down guidelines.

The company argued that the payments were reimbursement of administrative expenses incurred by master policyholders. But IRDA termed it as untenable.

IRDA had issued Group Insurance Guidelines under Section 34 of the Insurance Act stipulating the maximum percentage of commission payable to an agent in respect of group insurance policies.

Further, it had said, no payment will be made towards management expenses, document expenses, profit commission, bulk discount or payment of any other description to the agent or group organiser or manager or a master policyholder.

The payments were received from SBI Life Insurance by the agents and master policyholders between 2005-2010.

The eight corporate agents (associates of State Bank of India) and the six master policyholders are:

State Bank of India- Rs 127 crore

State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur- Rs 8.44 crore

State Bank of Hyderabad- Rs 13.25 crore

State Bank of Indore- Rs 3.69 crore

State Bank of Mysore- Rs 8.28 crore

State Bank of Patiala- Rs 5.56 crore

State Bank of Saurashtra- Rs 3.31 crore

State Bank of Tranvancore- Rs 16.12 crore

Master Policyholders:

Union Bank of India- Rs 6.13 crore

United Bank of India- Rs 3.04 crore

Sundaram Home Finance- Rs 1.56 crore

Dewan Housing Finance- Corp Rs 4.26 crore

The Federal Bank- Rs 3.34 crore

Kerala Transport Development Finance Corporation- Rs 316,029


(Courtesy: Keshav Govekar, Development Officer, Kolhapur. Source: Economic Times)

NOINO is rising – a success story

THE RISE & RISE OF NOINO

NOINO was formed on 29^th June 2002 in Mumbai with a handful of officers. The 1^st All India office-bearers’ committee of NOINO was formed on 8^th July 2003 in Chennai. Since then, NOINO has been making spectacular progress across the country. To commemorate the 8^th anniversary of formal declaration of formation of NOINO (on 8^th July 2003), we tried to assess our growth during the past 2 years. NOINO has opened more than 20 units in the last 2 years. Till now about 60 divisional units have been functioning. An overview of the expansion in the last 2 years:-

• 27.07.2009----Formation of Kharagpur (EZ) & Vadodara (WZ) units.
• 09.08.2009----Formation of Raichur (SCZ) unit.
• 05.09.2009----Formation of Howrah (EZ) unit.
• 23.12.2009----Formation of Dehradun (NCZ) unit.
• 15.01.2010----Formation of Indore (CZ) unit.
• 25.02.2010----Formation of Nadiad (WZ) unit.
• 22.05.2010----Formation of Delhi-2 (NZ) unit.
• 29.07.2010----Formation of Delhi-1 (NZ) unit.
• 19.08.2010----Formation of Amravati (WZ) unit.
• 07.11.2010----Formation of Chandigarh (NZ) unit.
• 19.12.2010----Formation of Bhagalpur (ECZ) unit.
• 09.01.2011----Formation of Shimoga (SCZ) & Bhavnagar (WZ) unit.
• 13.02.2011----Formation of Amritsar & Srinagar (both NZ) unit.
• 27.02.2011----Formation of Gorakhpur (NCZ) unit.
• 03.03.2011----Formation of Karnal (NZ) unit.
• 16.05.2011----Formation of Ahmedabad (WZ) unit.
• 22.06.2011----Formation of Allahabad (NCZ) unit.
• 01.07.2011----Formation of Hyderabad (SCZ) unit.

The success in expansion can be attributed to:-

1. The sincerity with which NOINO continues to pursue the problems of Class-I Officers particularly many critical & important issues which nobody earlier took up with the management; &  follow-up of the same to their logical ends.
2. The transparency with which NOINO is functioning & acquiring trust of majority of Class-I officers.
3. The persistent efforts by the NOINO activists across the country.
4. The whole-hearted support given by NOIW.

We assure all the officers in LIC that we will not rest on the laurels & continue to take up their problems & follow them up to their logical end. We also appeal to all such officers who are not yet members of NOINO to join it forthwith & strengthen the Nationalist Trade Union movement.

Jobless growth in pvt life insurance

Jobless growth in pvt life insurance
Niladri Bhattacharya & Somasroy Chakraborty / Mumbai July 6, 2011, 0:12 IST

Jobless growth has found a new home — India’s life insurance companies. In the last financial year, private life insurers reduced headcount by 27 per cent to achieve profitability.

The number of people employed by these companies as on March 31, 2011, was 60,215, as against 81,507 in the corresponding period last year. They closed down more than 900 branches. Also, 174,000 agents went out of the system.

In the same period, they shored up their bottom lines. For example, ICICI Prudential and Bajaj Allianz, the top two private life insurers in terms of profitability, reported net profits of Rs 810 crore and Rs 1,060 crore, respectively, for the year ended March 31. The two reduced their combined headcount by 12,000 and closed down 650 branches.

Similarly, Max New York Life and Tata AIG Life reported profit for the first time, while HDFC Life and Reliance Life reduced operating losses significantly. The insurers said the number of people who lost their jobs was negligible and the reduction in headcount was mainly due to freeze on hiring and attrition. However, analysts said the number of people who lost their jobs was substantial. The insurers said they had to sacrifice growth to achieve profitability and had no option but to improve “efficiency by optimally” using the resources. Last September, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (Irda) capped commissions and other charges on unit-linked products. It also increased the lock-in period for such products from three years to five years. This resulted in a sharp fall in sales of unit-linked plans, which accounted for more than 90 per cent sales of life insurance companies. Judhajit Das, chief, human resources, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance, said the company had to shift to new products due to these changes. “The entire frontline had to be trained. So, we did not hire for some time last year. With natural attrition, the number of employees fell,” he said. ICICI Pru, however, is hiring again and will recruit 1,500-2,000 people a month for the next few months. “Taking the attrition rate into account, we would like to maintain an average headcount of 14,000 throughout the year,” he said. 

SHRINKING FOR GROWTH
NO OF BRANCHES
Companies	2009-10	2010-11	Change
ICICI Prudential Life	1,923	1,404	-519
Bajaj Allianz	1,151	1,050	-151
Max New York Life	705	505	-200
TATA AIG Life	433	358	-75
HDFC Life	568	498	-70
Reliance Life	1,247	1,248	1
SBI Life	494	629	135
NO OF EMPLOYEES*
ICICI Prudential Life	20,000	13,000	-35.00
Bajaj Allianz	20,000	14,938	-25.31
Max New York Life	10,454	7,000	-33.04
TATA AIG Life	8,100	5,400	-33.33
HDFC Life	14,397	12,094	-16.00
Reliance Life	16,656	13,183	-20.85
SBI Life	5,985	7,298	21.94
NET PROFIT/LOSS (RS CR)*
ICICI Prudential Life	260	810	211.54
Bajaj Allianz	540	1,060	96.30
Max New York Life	-20	190	-
TATA AIG Life	-400	52	-
HDFC Life	-280	-100	-
Reliance Life	-280	-130	-
SBI Life	276	366	32.61
Source: Goldman Sachs                     *Change in per cent

 Most major private sector players such as Max New York Life, HDFC Life, Reliance Life, Tata AIG have also seen a significant drop in employee numbers. Only SBI Life went against the tide and opened 135 new branches, which led to an increase in staff strength to 7,298 from 5,985 a year ago. The second-largest private life insurer also reported a higher net profit of Rs 366 crore in 2010-11 as against Rs 276 crore in the corresponding period a year ago.

Other companies’ officials said natural attrition was behind the fall in employee numbers, adding, industry was going through a consolidation phase after September 2010, when the new norms were introduced. “We are reworking our business model to suit the regulations which came into force in September 2010. As part of this strategy, we did not fill all the positions which became vacant mostly due to natural attrition,” said Vijay Sinha, senior vice-president Tata AIG Life, which reduced the employee strength by 2,700. Rajiv Burman, senior director & chief people officer, Max New York Life Insurance, said in view of the changed business environment, the company realigned investments in distribution and consolidated its service models to drive process efficiencies while ensuring the same quality of service to policyholders and agent advisors.

“We rationalised our presence in certain geographies, which resulted in some human impact also. We ensured the impact was minimised by transferring employees, filling open roles internally and finding alternative roles wherever possible”. In 2010-11, private insurers posted a marginal 2.55 per cent increase in premium income to Rs 39,381.30 crore compared to Rs 38,399.33 crore in the corresponding period last year. In the period, the industry recorded 15 per cent growth from writing new policies.


(Courtesy: Shri Ramesh Chand Bairwa, Ajmer DO)