All India Insurance Employees’ Association (AIIEA), has demanded that the govt remove United India Insurance company from consideration for privatisation.
Wants Govt To Reconsider Merger Plans
In a statement, it said that the govt’s change of decision from merger of 3 public sector general insurance companies to privatisation of them is disappointing.
It wants the govt to bring back merger plans which would bring about economies of scale, benefit the country’s economy and financially vulnerable parts of the population
AIIEA added that public sector general insurance companies keep the economy running by implementing national schemes such as the recent scheme to cover deaths of frontline workers due to Covid.
How Public Sector Insurance Cos Support Govt And Economy
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had declared during the Union Budget speech that the centre will be privatising 2 PSBs and 1 general insurance company this fiscal,
United India is the insurer for TN Chief Minister Health Insurance Scheme for 10 years along with the Maharashtra Government’s Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Jan Arogya Yojana Health Insurance Scheme from 2020.
It has also underwritten the Prime Minister Suraksha Bima Yojana on a large scale, something private insurance cos hesitate to do.
Association’s Agenda
AIIEA has been working on rallying people’s support of their agenda against disinvestment of public sector general insurance companies,
They have also contacted over 350 Parliamentarians regarding the matter.
It stated that insurance employees part of the association are determined to oppose the govt’s move to privatise United India Insurance Company and the public sector institutions in general.
Earlier this week, policy think tank NITI Aayog put forward the United India Insurance Company to be privatised as part of the centre’s new public sector enterprise (PSE) policy for Atmanirbhar Bharat.
AIIEA opines that privatisation of the insurance co or any other state-owned general insurance company will be in direct opposition to the govt’s objective of Aatmanirbhar Bharat.