LIC MD Dinesh Pant takes VRS, set to join IRDAI; Girija Subramanian already in key regulatory role

Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) managing director Dinesh Pant has taken voluntary retirement from the insurer, paving the way for his move to the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI), where he has been appointed Whole-Time Member (Actuary) earlier this year.

LIC said in a regulatory filing on Friday that the government of India had approved Pant's voluntary retirement in a notification dated September 24, 2026. Pant was relieved from LIC's services and ceased to be its managing director and key managerial personnel (KMP) from September 24 after the close of the day.

Pant's move comes as IRDAI gets a new leadership combination with experience from both the life and general insurance sides of the industry. The government had appointed Pant and Girija Subramanian as Whole-Time Members of the insurance regulator in June, with Pant having been assigned the Actuary portfolio and Subramanian the Distribution portfolio.

Pant moves from LIC to insurance regulator

The government's June 15 notification appointed Pant, then LIC managing director, as IRDAI's Whole-Time Member (Actuary) for five years from the date he assumes charge, or until he turns 65, or until further orders, whichever is earliest.

Pant had taken charge as LIC managing director from June 1, 2025, after previously serving as the insurer's Appointed Actuary and Executive Director (Actuarial). His LIC tenure was originally set to run until his superannuation on May 31, 2027, or until further orders.

Following his exit, Pant has also ceased to be chairperson of LIC's Information Technology Strategy Committee and a member of the Executive Committee and Investment Committee.

Girija Subramanian takes distribution role

Subramanian was appointed IRDAI's Whole-Time Member (Distribution) on the same day as Pant. Before moving to the regulator, she served as chairperson-cum-managing director of New India Assurance Company, giving her experience in the general insurance business.

Her appointment places distribution and market access among the key areas of focus for IRDAI as the regulator works on reforms aimed at expanding insurance penetration and improving the way policies are sold.

Subramanian's earlier career also includes a stint at General Insurance Corporation of India-Re, where she served as general manager before being appointed chairman-cum-managing director of Agriculture Insurance Company of India in 2022.

The appointments come at a time when IRDAI is pushing changes across insurance distribution, commissions, mis-selling and the broader economics of how policies are sold.