Khuntia was the former chief secretary of Karnataka and has held several government positions.
Subhash Chandra Khuntia, a 1981-batch Indian Administrative Services (IAS) officer who was a former Karnataka Chief Secretary, has been appointed as Chairman of Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irda).
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved Khuntia's appointment for a period of three years. The post was vacant for more than two months after TS Vijayan’s tenure came to an end on February 21.
“ACC has approved the appointment for a period of three years, the date of assumption of charge, or till the age of 65 years, or until further orders, whichever is the earliest,” a release on the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) website stated.
Born on November 21, 1957, the Karnataka-cadre IAS officer is a native of Jagatshingpur, Odisha. He has also served in various government departments including as Secretary at the Department of School Education & Literacy, Special Secretary and Financial Advisor in the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, and held positions in Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL) and Indian Oil Corporation (IOC).
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He had taken over as Chief Secretary to the Government of Karnataka in October 2016 and held the position till last year.
A vacancy circular on the Department of Financial Services said an applicant can hold office up to the age of 65 years of age. However, the person would be eligible for re-appointment if he/she has a minimum of two years of residual service on the date of vacancy or not more than 63 years of age on February 21, 2018.
The government notification had said that an applicant was required to have at least 30 years of work experience and should have served as secretary to government or at equivalent level in other institutions. Applicants from private sector were also eligible if they worked as a CEO or equivalent of a large financial institution.
As reported by Moneycontrol earlier, the government was keen to have a civil servant as the head of the insurance regulatory body.
Apart from Khuntia, several industry officials including Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) Chairman VK Sharma and New India Assurance Chairman and Managing Director G Srinivasan had applied for the post. The final interviews were held during the first week of March.
Vijayan was the first industry official to be appointed as Irda Chairman. Prior to him, all heads of Irda were former bureaucrats.