Option of hiving off PLI from India Post under study: Official

The postal department is "seriously studying" the option of hiving off the postal life insurance (PLI) business into a separate entity, an official said on Thursday. Chief Postmaster General (CPMG) of West Bengal circle Gautam Bhattacharya said PLI was earlier restricted to government and semi-government officials, but it is now open to listed corporate bodies and professionals.

"The department is seriously studying the option of hiving off the PLI business as a separate arm," Bhattacharya said at an MCCI interaction here. He said although the market share of PLI is small at three per cent, it offers a higher bonus in comparison to other life insurance companies and the premium charged is lower.

"This is because the commission paid for selling the policies are lower and the cost of operation is less," Bhattacharya said. Introduced on February 1, 1884 as a welfare scheme for postal employees, PLI is the oldest life insurance product offered in the country.

He said that at present, 60 per cent of the revenue accrued by the postal department comes from post office savings schemes. With time, the volume of personal mails have come down, the official said.

"Our thrust is on increasing earnings from parcel mails," Bhattacharya said. For this purpose, parcel hubs are being created in the state. He said that post offices are now also being utilised for making Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) paymemts by the government..

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