Lok Sabha Debates
Need To Take Welfare Measures For Benefits Of Lic Agents In The Country. on 2 August, 2017
Sixteenth Loksabha an> Title: Need to take welfare measures for benefits of LIC agents in the country.
SHRI P.K. BIJU (ALATHUR): Madam Speaker, I would like to raise a serious issue regarding the employees of the Life Insurance Corporation of India. As we know, LIC came into being on 19th June, 1956 in this august House on passing of the Life Insurance of India Act, 1956.
Life Insurance Corporation of India now contributes seven per cent to our GDP. More than 1,20,386 employees and more than 11,32,677 agents are working in LIC. The total assets of LIC are worth Rs.24.41 lakh crore. This became possible because of the hard work of the LIC agents throughout the country. The LIC agents staged are staging a dharna near Parliament House at Jantar Mantar today demanding job security, withdrawal of permission to banks for issuing policies, and removal of GST.
Madam Speaker, now GST is being imposed on life insurance policies. This is done nowhere in the world. While they had withdrawn it even in Europe and Canada, we are introducing 1.8 per cent to 18 per cent GST on life insurance policies. As we know, life insurance policies benefit the nominee and not the actual policy holder. I, therefore, would request the Government to withdraw GST. Direct marketing should be stopped. Pension should be introduced for more than 11 lakh LIC agents. There is no welfare fund for them now. So, a welfare fund should be created for them. These more than 11 lakh agents do not come under any category of employees now. They are neither counted as professionals nor do they come in the category employees. They are agents and they are not covered under pension scheme. Therefore, a pension scheme should be introduced for them. CPF, enhancement of gratuity and amendment of gratuity calculation should be provided. The recommendations made by IRDAI were implemented in private insurance companies but not in the LIC. I urge upon the Central Government to take up this matter of utmost importance and introduce these facilities for these people as early as possible. Thank you.
HON. SPEAKER: Adv. Joice George, Shri Md. Badaruddoza Khan, Shri P. Karunakaran, Shri Sankar Prasad Datta, Shri Jitendra Chaudhury, Shri N.K. Premachandran, Mohammed Faizal, and Shri Rabindra Kumar Jena are permitted to associate with the issue raised by Shri P.K. Biju.