Royal Sundaram Appoints Vedanarayanan Seshadri As The New Managing Director

Royal Sundaram General Insurance Co. Limited is happy to announce the appointment of Mr. Vedanarayanan Seshadri (Veda) as the Managing Director starting 28th May 2025.Veda, brings over 30 years of BFSI sector experience, including 15 years in insurance leadership roles. His expertise includes insurance distribution, driving profitable growth, and digital transformation-enabled customer experience improvements. He holds degrees in engineering, marketing, finance, and an advanced management programme from INSEAD, France.Commenting on the development, Mr Harsha Viji, Executive Vice-Chairman, Sundaram Finance, said, "Veda brings over 30 years of experience in the BFSI sector, including senior roles in life and general insurance. His deep understanding of the insurance market, customer preferences, and leadership skills will benefit him in this new role. Given the evolving insurance landscape and digital advancements, Veda is well-placed to lead Royal Sundaram's growth."Commenting on his appointment, Mr. Vedanarayanan Seshadri stated, "I am honoured to lead Royal Sundaram into its next phase. Royal Sundaram is renowned for its values, professionalism, and customer-centric approach. I am confident that, with the dedicated team and the unwavering support from the board and stakeholders, we will achieve substantial growth while preserving our fundamental principles."About Royal SundaramRoyal Sundaram General Insurance Co. Limited became India's first private sector general insurance company to be licensed by the IRDAI in October 2000. The company is promoted by Sundaram Finance Limited, one of India's most respected Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs). In February 2019, it partnered with Ageas Insurance International N.V., a global insurance group based in Belgium, which acquired a 40% equity stake in Royal Sundaram. Following this transaction, Sundaram Finance holds 50%, Ageas Insurance holds 40%, and the remaining 10% is held by other Indian shareholders.Royal Sundaram offers a comprehensive suite of general insurance solutions across motor, health, personal accident, corporate, and home insurance segments. The company continues to invest in a strong service infrastructure, leveraging both agent-led and digital distribution networks. Today, Royal Sundaram is a truly pan-India, multi-platform "phygital" insurer with a presence across diverse markets, enabled by an extensive distribution ecosystem.At Royal Sundaram, every product and service is built with a deep understanding of the customers' needs, ensuring a seamless, transparent, and hassle-free insurance experience. From easy policy issuance to swift claim settlements, the company remains committed to delivering a customer-first experience, keeping the satisfaction and well-being of its clients at the heart of everything it does.Disclaimer: The material and information contained are for advertorial purposes only. India Today holds no responsibility for the content written on the website as a basis for making any business, legal, or any other decision. Any reliance placed on such material is at your own risk.
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Indian Express

29 minutes ago

• Indian Express

Iranian parliament recommends Strait of Hormuz closure: What may be in store for energy markets, India's oil imports

Following US airstrikes at Iranian nuclear facilities, Iran's parliament Sunday approved a motion calling for the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical oil transit choke point in global energy flows. To be sure, it is up to Iran's Supreme National Security Council to decide on whether or not to go ahead to try and choke the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has in the past threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz on multiple occasions, but has never actually done it. Notwithstanding that, the heightened risk of the closure is bound to raise concerns globally, including in India, particularly with regard to oil and gas supply security, and could lead to a jump in energy prices. The global energy market has had its eyes set on the ongoing Israel-Iran conflict as the West Asian region is a critical cog in the international oil and gas flows. Indian refiners, too, have been watching the developments closely as the region accounts for a significant share of India's energy imports. Also, any major disruption in West Asian oil and gas exports could lead to a surge in oil and gas prices in the international market, which would also hurt India, which is counted among the world's largest oil and gas importers with high import dependency levels. To be sure, the conflict has so far not really disrupted physical oil and gas flows from the region, although shipping and insurance rates have gone up notably due to higher geopolitical risk premium,according to industry sources. There are also reports that a few shipping lines are reassessing routes in the region. This could further add to the transportation cost to and from the region. As for oil prices, benchmark Brent crude was at $77 per barrel on Friday, its highest level in nearly five months. It is likely that oil prices will surge when the markets open Monday over the possibility of the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. At May-end, Brent was languishing around $63 per barrel. But oil prices rose sharply with Israel and Iran entering into a military conflict over the past couple of weeks. However, despite some energy infrastructure being hit in the conflict over the past few days, the most critical oil and gas supply infrastructure in the region is reported to be safe and export routes open and functional. Energy industry insiders, trade sources, and experts appear largely unanimous in the view that the trajectory oil and gas supplies and prices take hereon amid this conflict would largely depend on whether the critical Strait of Hormuz will indeed be closed by Iran, and whether oil and gas export infrastructure in the region would remain largely unharmed. Strait of Hormuz: World's most critical energy trade choke point Strait of Hormuz is a critical narrow waterway between Iran and Oman, and connects the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea. The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) calls it the 'world's most important oil transit chokepoint', with around one-fifth of global liquid petroleum fuel consumption and global liquefied natural gas (LNG) trade transiting the strait. Much of India's oil from key West Asian suppliers like Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE reaches Indian ports via the Strait of Hormuz. A bulk of India's LNG imports, which come predominantly from Qatar, also come through this vital choke point. India is the world's third-largest consumer of crude oil and depends on imports to meet over 85 per cent of its requirement. The country is also among the top importers of LNG, depending on imports to meet around half of its natural gas demand. India's largest source of crude oil is Russia, followed by West Asian suppliers Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE. India also buys oil from other countries in the region like Kuwait, Qatar, and Oman. Indian refiners do not purchase Iranian crude as Iran's energy sector is under US sanctions. According to tanker data analysed by The Indian Express, nearly 47 per cent of crude oil imported by Indian refiners in May was likely to have been transported via the Strait of Hormuz. The importance of the chokepoint for India's energy supply and security cannot be understated. To be sure, Tehran has over the years made such threats at various points, but has never actually closed the strait even when it fought its worst wars. That is also because given the importance of the channel for global energy trade, any such attempt could draw a strong response from regional powers and even the US. Also, given that Iran itself depends on the Strait of Hormuz for its trade, particularly oil exports to China, any blockade could impact Tehran considerably, experts pointed out. 'First and foremost, such a blockade would disproportionately harm China, which sources 47% of its seaborne crude from the Middle East Gulf, including Iranian volumes. Iran's ability to maintain its sole major oil customer would be directly jeopardised. Additionally, Tehran has made deliberate efforts over the past two years to rebuild ties with key regional actors, including Saudi Arabia and the UAE, both of which rely heavily on the Strait for exports and have publicly condemned Israel's actions. Sabotaging their flows would risk unraveling those diplomatic gains,' commodity market analytics firm Kpler said in a note on June 19. '…while the rhetoric may generate headlines, the fundamentals argue strongly against action,' the Kpler note said. 'It's really hard to tell, but I would say it's very unlikely for that (blockade of the Strait of Hormuz) to happen. And we've seen in the past, whenever there were indications or even threats that Iran might be doing this, you would hear statements from the US Fifth Fleet that they would immediately intervene and they would unblock the strait. Of course, it's something that we need to flag as a risk,' Kpler's head of Middle East energy & OPEC+ insights had said in a webinar last week. Hormuz closure will hurt energy import-dependent India Given the fact that the Iranian parliament has recommended the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, the possibility cannot be dismissed. In fact, given that the regime in Tehran is perhaps fighting for survival, Iran might just attempt something that it has only threatened in the past. If the critical water channel indeed is closed by Iran, Bakr said oil prices, which have been rather subdued for a few months now, could jump to over $120 per barrel, or even touch $150. Apart from supply disruption for India, the surge in international energy prices due to any such blockade would hit India due to its heavy reliance on imported oil. This makes India's economy vulnerable to global oil price fluctuations. It also has a bearing on the country's trade deficit, foreign exchange reserves, the rupee's exchange rate, and inflation rate, among others. Major oil producers like Saudi Arabia and the UAE have some alternative infrastructure in the form of pipelines to bypass the Strait of Hormuz for oil exports, but to what extent that would help would depend on the extent of the disruption to exports via the strait. According to officials in India's refining sector, the prospect of elevated freight rates due to high risk premium for tankers passing through the strait would lead to higher landed price of oil and gas for them, but that would still be significantly better than runaway oil prices due to any major supply disruption, which would be nearly certain if the Strait of Hormuz is shut for oil tankers. Threat to West Asian oil exports: Price impact So far, Iranian oil export infrastructure doesn't appear to have been majorly hit by Israel, which is a relief for the energy markets and countries like India, even though they do not buy oil from Iran. This is because some Chinese refiners buy bulk Iranian oil and if Iran's oil exports are majorly impaired due to the conflict, these buyers will be forced to scout for oil from other sources, which could lead to higher oil prices. 'If Iranian crude exports are disrupted, Chinese refiners, the sole buyers of Iranian barrels—would need to seek alternative grades from other Middle Eastern countries and Russian crudes. This could also boost freight rates and tanker insurance premiums… and hurt refinery margins, particularly in Asia,' Richard Joswick, head of near-term oil analysis at S&P Global Commodity Insights, said in a note recently. While oil producers' cartel OPEC has significant spare production capacity that they can use in case of a major outage of Iranian oil exports, it is important to note that much of that is with other West Asian oil producers, which are located in the broader Israel-Iran conflict zone. According to industry watchers, this spare capacity will only be helpful if other oil producers in the region are able to export to the rest of the world effectively. And that would have two key prerequisites—their own oil production and export infrastructure remains unharmed and the Strait of Hormuz remains open and safe for energy trade. Sukalp Sharma is a Senior Assistant Editor with The Indian Express and writes on a host of subjects and sectors, notably energy and aviation. He has over 13 years of experience in journalism with a body of work spanning areas like politics, development, equity markets, corporates, trade, and economic policy. He considers himself an above-average photographer, which goes well with his love for travel. ... Read More

Business Standard

an hour ago

• Business Standard

DGCA launches comprehensive special audit plan to end siloed safety checks

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has rolled out a new 'comprehensive special audit' framework for India's aviation sector that aims to move beyond siloed safety assessments and carry out integrated evaluations across airlines, airports, maintenance firms, training institutes, and ground handling agencies. 'Traditionally, regulatory and safety oversight functions within Indian aviation have been conducted in silos, with different directorates (of DGCA) performing inspections and audits specific to their respective domains. These activities include planned/unplanned surveillance inspections, random spot checks and ramp inspections, which primarily assess compliance and safety within individual aviation segments,' the regulator stated. On June 12, Air India's London-bound AI171 flight crashed shortly after take-off from Ahmedabad, killing 229 passengers, 12 crew members, and 34 people on the ground. Issued on June 19, the DGCA circular mentioned the need for 'a 360-degree evaluation of the aviation ecosystem, reflecting both its strengths and areas needing improvement'. Going beyond the annual surveillance audits currently in place, the special audits will be carried out by multidisciplinary teams led by senior officials from the regulator. These teams will include personnel from various DGCA divisions—such as flight standards, air safety, airworthiness, aerodrome standards, and air navigation—and may also bring in external experts when needed. The audits will examine three broad areas: the effectiveness of an organisation's Safety Management System (SMS), the robustness of its operational practices, and compliance with regulatory provisions. Each audit will involve a combination of techniques, including on-site inspections, document reviews, interviews with operational staff, safety data analysis, and training record checks. 'These audits will be over and above the Regulatory Audits carried out as per the Annual Surveillance Programme,' the DGCA said. They will apply to all major players in the civil aviation system, including not just airlines and airports but also Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) providers, training academies, and even entities that manage emergency response systems and supply chains. The regulator will initiate these audits either routinely—such as through annual assessments or post-implementation reviews—or in response to specific triggers like serious incidents, regulatory violations, or findings by UN body International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO). In urgent cases, audits may begin without notice. Otherwise, entities will be given between three to fourteen working days to prepare. Audit findings will be categorised by severity. The most critical will require corrective action within seven days, while others may be resolved over 30 or 90 days. 'Audited entities must submit a Corrective Action Plan… detailing root cause analysis, remedial actions, preventive measures, implementation timelines, and success metrics,' the circular stated. The DGCA has also made it clear that enforcement will follow in cases where findings are not addressed. 'Non-compliance… may result in progressive enforcement actions, including advisory guidance, formal warnings, operational restrictions, financial penalty, suspension, or revocation of licences,' it noted. To encourage transparency, the regulator has promised confidentiality of audit findings in line with international norms. 'The Special Audit upholds a confidential approach, aligned with ICAO Annex 19 principles, to foster open reporting and positive safety culture,' it said. The new audits, DGCA said, will 'provide a holistic evaluation of the aviation sector, meticulously examining safety, operational efficiency, and regulatory compliance'. The goal is to proactively identify systemic vulnerabilities, enhance resilience, and ensure alignment with international standards and India's own aviation safety objectives.

Business Standard

an hour ago

• Business Standard

Markets may dip as US strikes on Iran stoke oil fears, global volatility

Indian markets may open lower on Monday due to fears of crude oil disruption from the West Asia though domestic institutional investors may support valuations Sundar Sethuraman Mumbai Listen to This Article Investors may have to brace for a spike in volatility on Monday following the US military's direct involvement in the Israel–Iran conflict over the weekend. Experts believe benchmark Sensex and Nifty may correct 1–1.5 per cent if oil prices surge and Asian markets fall due to the widening of the West Asia conflict. However, domestic institutional investor (DII) buying could cushion the fall. Last week, the domestic markets had gained over 1.5 per cent even as hostilities between Iran and Israel escalated. On Saturday, President Donald Trump announced targeted strikes on three of Iran's key nuclear facilities—Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan—using