Fails to utilise funds for public awareness in the year that it brought sweeping changes in industry
The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (Irda) has so far spent Rs 2.3 crore, or 15 per cent, of the Rs 15-crore budgetary provision for public awareness and advertising between December 2009 and March 2011. In fact, the regulator has spent Rs 6.5 crore on public awareness and Rs 33.75 crore on advertising since 2002.
In response to a query by Pune-based Vivek Velankar under the Right to Information Act, Irda said it had spent Rs 2.29 crore for advertising and Rs 30,000 towards public awareness till December 2010. With slightly over two months to go, it is highly unlikely that Irda can spent the rest amount within the scheduled period. In the previous financial year, the regulator had spent Rs 21 lakh for advertising and Rs 1 lakh for public awareness.
“Under Insurance Awareness Campaign, there was no reserved amount prior to December 2009. It was in December 2009 when a budgetary provision of Rs 15 crore was made for 15 months (December 2009 to March 2011). This provision has to be accounted for after completion of the financial year 2010-2011,” the regulator said in its response, signed by actuarial member and appellate authority R Kannan. Irda launched its Grievance Call Centre in August last year.
“We have a schedule for advertising and awareness programmes decided in the beginning of the year,” Kannan told Business Standard over phone. “The budget for which is worked out accordingly as per the funds in hand. It is approved by the board, which has many government representatives on it.”
| IDLE CASH Expenditure in Rs crore | ||
| Year | Advertisement | Other |
| 2002-03 | 12.01 | 0.080 |
| 2003-04 | 13.19 | Nil |
| 2004-05 | 2.49 | 0.930 |
| 2005-06 | 0.91 | 1.400 |
| 2006-07 | 1.43 | 2.080 |
| 2007-08 | 0.75 | Nil |
| 2008-09 | 0.47 | 2.250 |
| 2009-10 | 0.21 | 0.001 |
| 2010-11 | 2.29 | 0.003 |
| *Other expenses include seminars, phone-in programmes, public awareness campaigns and so on | ||
Velankar had requested Irda to detail the expenditure on insurance awareness or insurance policyholders’ education programme since its inception.