The officer's association of National, Oriental, United and New India Assurance (NOUN) have started an "educational programme" for bringing awareness among all General Insurance Corporation's (GIC) and employees in its subsidiaries.

This educational programme includes chapters like "What is IRDA (Insurance Regulatory Development Authority)", "Advantages of merger and disadvantages of demerger", and another on how highly-placed officials are playing games with their employees by supporting the Poddar committee report.

The campaign also underscores the stand off between NOUN and and Poddar committee whose report recommended the demerger of GIC and its four subsidiaries to the finance ministry.

NOUN's all-India General Secretary Amresh Sinha said that "We have already started this programme in Oriental and United Insurance to mobilise staff members. We are also planning to visit each and every office of New India Assurance and National Insurance for this campaign. We are just telling them how GIC's future in danger because of a demerger. We are insisting on a merger of all four subsidiaries of GIC because the Centre is yet to take a final decision on the restructuring of GIC and its four subsidiaries".

On February 24, 2000,MP Chitale & Co - a private-sector consulting company - was assigned the task of studying various options for the organisational restructuring of GIC and its subsidiaries in association with ORG Marg. It recommended that all four subsidiaries of GIC may be merged to form a single company.

NOUN is the of view of that Chitale & Co's report is favourable and requested the finance ministry to implement the same. Subsequent to this, the Poddar committee had recommended a demerger of GIC's subsidiaries.

Recently NOUN's Mr Sinha met finance ministry officials in Delhi. "Many of them were of view that a demerger is a step towards pulling down GIC and its four subsidiaries and that such a move will increase unhealthy competition among themselves. This will weaken individual companies, increase internal problems, and corporate clients may move out because of the infighting", noted Mr Sinha.

Mr Sinha also pointed out that finance ministry officials agreed that a merger will lower overall operating expenses, make decision making faster due to synchronisation at top level, and boost employee morale. "The ministry has given an assurance that it will solve this matter" Mr Sinha added.