Employees of the Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) and trade union members staged a protest on December 18 in Chennai against the Union government’s decision to allow 100% Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the insurance sector.
The protest was part of a nationwide call issued by major trade unions, including those from the banking and insurance sectors.
The protests were triggered by the passing of the Sabko Bima Sabko Raksha 2025 bill on December 16 in Parliament. The bill, moved by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, proposed an increase in the FDI limit from 74% to 100%.
Nirmala has defended the new bill, saying an increase in FDI would pave the way for capital infusion and better technology.
In Chennai, the protestors assembled in front of the Bombay Mutuals Building at Parry’s Corner and raised slogans against the newly passed bill. Protestors said that the move would seriously destabilise the insurance sector.
In 1999, the then Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government first allowed 26% FDI in the insurance sector. This was increased to 49% in 2015 and to 74% in 2021.
Condemning the bill, former general secretary of the South Zone Insurance Employees Federation Swaminathan said that the Indian insurance sector has a 200-year-old legacy and that 100% FDI would undermine it.
Swaminathan added that the move will largely benefit big corporations. “This is an act of destroying public sector undertakings,” he told TNM.
Sarvamangalam, a divisional general secretary in Chennai Division 2, said the bill will severely affect insurance agents. According to the new law, foreign companies can start businesses directly without the support of the Indian government or Indian companies.
He further added that this move threatens public confidence in insurance companies and asked who will be held responsible if the companies go bankrupt.
The Union government’s move is not only being opposed by employees or agents. It has created dissatisfaction among Class 1 officers of LIC.
Speaking to TNM, Padmanabhan, a Class 1 LIC officer, said, "The BJP government is misusing its parliamentary majority to pass such bills through voice vote and without a proper debate. Since foreign companies will focus only on urban areas, rural areas will be neglected.”
The protestors also said that larger agitations would take place across the country if the Union government does withdraw its decision.