Irdai chairman Subhash Khuntia retired in May last year and the post was lying vacant since then
Winning Bizness Desk
Mumbai. Debashish Panda, former secretary of the Department of Financial Services, has been appointed as the chairman of insurance regulator "Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India" (IRDAI). This appointment has been made after about 9 months. He has been appointed for 3 years. Panda is a 1987 batch IAS officer who belonged to the Uttar Pradesh cadre. He had retired as Secretary of Financial Services in January this year. Irdai chairman Subhash Khuntia retired in May last year and the post was lying vacant since then. This was announced by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet. On the other hand, Ashwani Bhatia, Managing Director (MD) of the country's largest bank SBI, has been made a Whole Time Member of SEBI. His name was approved by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet on Thursday. He has been appointed for three years. Even after this, there is still one vacant post of full time member in SEBI.
Finance Ministry invited applications in April 21
Bhatia was to retire from SBI in May this year. He became MD in August 2020. Prior to that he was MD and CEO of SBI Mutual Fund. He started his career in 1985 as a Probationary Officer in SBI. His career spanned 33 years. Only last month, the government had appointed Madhabi Puri Buch as the chairman of SEBI. In April 2021, the Finance Ministry had invited applications for the post of Irdai Chairman. After several interviews, Panda's name was recommended by the Financial Sector Regulatory Appointments Search Committee. Panda's name was then sent to the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, headed by the Prime Minister, where it was approved.
Prior to becoming the Finance Secretary, Panda was in the Department of Insurance and Financial Literacy. He was the nominee director of the government on the board of Irdai. He was also on the board of the Reserve Bank. In Uttar Pradesh, Panda was the secretary of home and agriculture and corporation departments. He has also been the Resident Commissioner and CEO of Greater Noida.
