Vijayawada: LIC employees protest disinvestment move

Vijayawada: Members of the Insurance Corporation Employees Union staged lunch hour demonstration here on Thursday, protesting against the government move to disinvestment the government-owned Life Insurance Corporation of India in the name of initial public officer (IPO) which they claim detrimental to the interest of the employees and 40 crore policy holders throughout the country.

Ch Kaladhar, joint secretary of Insurance Corporation Employees Union, addressing the demonstrators, said that the LIC of India has been paying dividends to the Central government since its inception in 1956. He recalled that in 2018-19 the LIC paid Rs 2,600 crore dividend to the Central government.

He said that the LIC has the largest base in the world with 40 crore policyholders with a market share of 75 per cent in terms of premium and 80 per cent in terms of number of lives covered in spite of the presence of the private life insurance companies. Moreover, the LIC of India has been providing financial assistance to the nation building in a number of projects.

He said that the employees and the staff are demanding the government to desist from the plan of disinvestment keeping in view the interest of the large number policy holders and the nation as a whole.

Union leaders NMK Prasad, J Madhu, N Srinivas, Mangapathi, Ch M V Prasad, MP Govardhan and others participated in the demonstration.