Insurance regulator seeks staff, operating fund

Asaduzzaman Pallab | Published: March 20, 2011 00:00:00 | Updated: February 01, 2018 00:00:00

Asaduzzaman Pallab
Insurers' watchdog Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority (IDRA) has submitted an organogram to the Finance Ministry, seeking staff and budget. Finance Ministry officials said, IDRA has sought 170 manpower including four members and 4 executive directors. The authority also sought manpower for the posts of directors and additional directors. Once the organogram is okayed, the regulatory authority will start the process of recruiting manpower through publishing advertisement in the newspaper. The government has just picked Shefaq Ahmed as the chairman of the regulatory body. Ziaul Haq Mamum, a professor of Institute of Business Administration at Dhaka University and Naba Gopal Banik, an ex-executive director of the Bangladesh Bank, were also appointed as members of the IDRA. Shamsher Ali, a retired joint secretary, is supposed to join the regulatory body as an IDRA member. Shefaq Ahmed said it will require adequate manpower to oversee 43 general insurance and 17 life insurance companies. "We've already placed an organogram to the Finance Ministry seeking manpower for IDRA," he told the FE. He noted that IDRA will shift its office to new premises after getting the approval of the organogram. Currently, IDRA is operating from the office of now-defunct Chief Controller of Insurance (CCI). Officials said, IDRA has sought TK 20 million in block allocation from the Finance Ministry to maintain its daily operating costs up to June this year. The IDRA is mandated to operate according to the new insurance law enacted in March 2010 with a view to modernising the poorly-regulated sector. At present, the regulator is working on the preparation of rules that will be used for the enforcement of laws on the ground. A committee headed by chairman of Jiban Bima Corporation Dr. Mohammad Shohrab Uddin Ali is working on the insurance rules. President of Bangladesh Insurance Authority Sheikh Kabir Hosen said, IDRA should start their journey in full swing as soon as possible for the betterment of the insurance sector. He said, before formulating any new policy IDRA should discuss with all the stakeholders in the insurance sector.