New Delhi: The government on Thursday appointed former finance and economic affairs secretary Ajay Seth as chairperson of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai).
With Seth’s appointment, the country’s three apex financial sector regulators—the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), and Irdai—now have top finance ministry officials as their heads.
The government in December had appointed the then revenue secretary Sanjay Malhotra as the governor of RBI and later in February announced finance and revenue secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey as the new chairman of Sebi.
“The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved the appointment of Ajay Seth, IAS (KN: 1987) (Retd.), former Finance Secretary and Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, to the post of Chairperson, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) for a period of three years or till the incumbent achieved the age of 65 years, or until further orders, whichever is the earliest,” a Department of Personnel and Training notification said.
Seth, a 1987-batch IAS officer of the Karnataka cadre, retired as economic affairs secretary in June this year after a four-year stint. He served as DEA Secretary since 2021 and briefly held additional charge as revenue secretary earlier this year after Tuhin Kanta Pandey was appointed Sebi chairperson.
He joins the insurance sector regulator after a gap of four months since the position was vacated by Debasish Panda, who completed his term in March this year.
Like other financial sector regulator, Irdai chairperson is appointed by the ACC, which is headed by the Prime Minister and has home and finance ministers as other members.
Irdai oversees orderly development of the insurance sector, protects the interest of policy holders, prevents mis-selling of insurance products, builds reliable management information systems and also provides long-term funds to infrastructure sectors that ensure accelerated growth of the economy.
The regulator is also tasked to implement government’s programme of insurance for all by 2047.
A mechanical engineer with an MBA, Seth’s appointment comes at a time when Irdai is engaged in addressing the issue of cyber threats to the financial markets and strengthening regulations to curb fraud and mis-selling.
As DEA secretary Seth was instrumental in shaping policies related to economic growth, fiscal management, infrastructure financing, and digital payments.
Seth has over 33 years of experience in public service. As secretary in the finance ministry, he was also made the officer-in-charge of the finance track during India’s G20 presidency two years back.
During his term at the finance ministry, Seth oversaw India’s first sovereign green bond issue and set up the infrastructure finance secretariat, which plans long-term funding for key projects.