Almost two years after stepping down from the helm of affairs at State Bank of India, Arundhati Bhattacharya is looking to make a comeback, but this time with a general insurance business. According to news reports, the former chairman is gearing up to start the general insurance business along with former country head and chief executive of American insurer AIG Sunil Mehta and former director of SBI Deepak Ishwarbhai Amin.
The company, Welmo Fintech, has been registered by Bhattacharya and Mehta on September 3. The insurer has a paid-up share capital of ₹1 lakh, reported the Livemint, citing data from the ministry of corporate affairs. “They will soon be approaching the insurance regulator to obtain an R1 approval," a source told the Livemint. R1 is the first stage of approval by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai) to start an insurance company. It is followed by R2 and R3 approvals.
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Welmo will be required to have a minimum of ₹100 crore as paid-up equity share capital to obtain the second stage of regulatory approval. “They are looking to raise capital from venture capital investors," the report quoted the source as saying.
After retiring as SBI chairperson in 2017, Bhattacharya had several corporate stints, including at Ajay Piramal-led Piramal Enterprises Ltd and Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries Ltd.
Despite the presence of 68 insurers in the country, India remains a deeply underpenetrated market. According to Irdai, as of 2017, general insurance penetration in India was only 0.93 per cent and 2.76 per cent for life insurance.
