Oriental Insurance or United India Insurance May be Introduced for Privatisation Process

The Government may consider privatising Oriental Insurance or the United India Insurance Co as their financial health has improved after a series of capital infusions, people aware of the development said. To further strengthen their financial health, the government is expected to infuse Rs 3,000 crore in the public sector general insurance companies during the current quarter.

Both Oriental Insurance and the Chennai-based United India Insurance may be able to generate interest from the private sector because of their improved financials, sources said.

As per the plan, NITI Aayog will make recommendations to the government for privatisation and the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) under the Ministry of Finance will take the proposal to its logical conclusion.

The process of choosing a suitable candidate for privatisation has just started and will take some time to decide, sources said while not ruling out the possibility for listed New India Assurance, where government stake stands at 85.44 per cent.