I may return: Liyaquat Khan

He is, perhaps, the first president of Actuarial Society of India (ASI) to have been in the eye of a storm during his entire tenure. The 64-year old Liyaquat Khan, former CEO of Sahara India Life Insurance Company Limited, describes his tenure saying, "The battles were worth the fight and winning was of great value to the actuarial profession. It was a satisfactory."

The fighter that he is, Khan bounced back after being voted out of office in 2001 by being reelected in 2002. He says, "With the elections to the ASI's presidency becoming an annual feature, I didn't expect more than a year in office." He continued three. years.

"This time I wanted to exit and had been sounding out others," he says. But Khan is not going for good. He may stage yet another comeback, "if vested interests try to take control of ASI". Soon after the ASI's annual general meeting he looks back at his tenure without mincing words. Excerpts.

Don't you regret missing the opportunity of being the ASI president when it is on the verge of becoming a statutory institute?
Liyaquat KhanI have always opposed the idea of forming an institute under an act of parliament. I still feel that it would be a sad day when that happens. The ASI is a legal body, registered as a trust and educational non-profit body. It is recognised under the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) regulations as a regulatory body for actuaries.

By putting it under an act of parliament, the ministry of finance will make it a virtual government department with all attendant inadequacies. There will be bureaucratic interference in professional matters, political and governmental interference in the role of the appointed actuary.

This will not only affect professional development, but will also reduce the regulatory powers of the IRDA. The greater tragedy is that the proposed bill specifically provides for no financial assistance to the body. How can a government own a body without taking financial responsibility for it?