T S Vijayan likely to be LIC chairman

T S Vijayan is likely to take over as the chairman of Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India. Vijayan is at present managing director of the insurance major.

According to sources, LIC managing directors, D K Mehrotra and Vijayan, have been close contenders for the post, currently occupied by A K Shukla.

Vijayan's appointment, however, is learnt to have been cleared by the selection committee. An announcement to this effect is likely in the next fortnight. Both Mehrotra and Vijayan have more than five years to retire.

Shukla is slated to retire by the end of this month. He had joined LIC in 1968 as a direct recruit officer and took over as its chairman in 2005. It is learnt that once Vijayan takes over as the new chairman, A K Dasgupta, zonal manager, central zone of LIC, may be promoted as managing director.

"This means that Dasgupta may take charge as the new managing director in spite of several other senior officials being eligible for the post," the sources said.

Recently, Thomas Mathew T, who was earlier the zonal manager for LIC in the western zone, had taken over as the new managing director of LIC, replacing K Sridhar. Questions were raised on his appointment as well, as the other contenders for the post were supposedly senior to him.