The separate section began operating simultaneously in 69 offices of the LIC throughout the country.

S Sarker, divisional manager of LIC, Surat, while inaugurating the new section on Tuesday, urged employees to work with commitment to meet goals the corporation had set for itself. He praised the employees for performing exceptionally well in the past year.

Marketing manager Vidyadhar and senior branch manager Bhupatrai Mehta stressed on the need and importance of pension and group insurance schemes. They said the role of LIC, especially in the rural areas, was exceptional.

Meanwhile, the LIC has organised a number of programmes including seminars, debates, elocution over the next two days to mark the occasion.

A statement issued by the LIC on Tuesday said that the correct figure of the Insurance Sum Assured was Rs 800.19 crore and not Rs 8000.19 crore as printed mistakenly in Tuesday's edition. The organisation also stated that while development officer S R Joshi sold the highest number of policies, the highest amount of insurance was procured by H G Lapsiwala, development officer of LIC's Udhna branch. He also brought in the highest First Premium among the offices of the Surat Division.