The Banks Board Bureau (BBB) names Mini Ipe and BC Patnaik as the Managing Directors of Life Insurance Corporation (LIC), which would have two vacancies of MD in the next five months. Still, insurance regulator Irdai is without a Chairman, with Subhash Chandra Khuntia would retire on May 6 after a three-year tenure.

Mini would succeed Vipin Anand, who would retire in July-end, while Patnaik would be joining in place of Mukesh Gupta, who will be call it a day in September-end. “The board of the Bureau interfaced with six candidates on Friday for the forthcoming two positions of Managing Director in LIC and keeping in view their performance in the interface and their overall experience, Mini and Patnaik have been selected,” states BBB.

Dinesh K Bhagat and Parkash Chand have been kept as the reserve candidates for these posts of MD. Though the post of the LIC Chairman would be vacant after MR Kumar retires in June-end, the Ministry of Finance is yet to initiate the process of shortlisting candidates for the post.

Considering BBB recommendations, the ministry would process the papers of Mini and Patnaik for seeking the approvals of Appointments Committee of Cabinet (ACC), which may take another two-three months before the final appointment letters for two officials are issued.

Meanwhile, the three-year tenure of outgoing Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai) Chairman Khuntia, a retired IAS officer, ended on Wednesday.

Although the government has kicked off the exercise to select the next Chairman of Irdai, it will take at least three months to select a new head.

Discretely, the BBB has selected Inderjeet Singh for the position of CMD in United India Insurance Company and Suchita Gupta for the position of CMD in National Insurance Company.