Ajay Seth Appointed as New IRDAI Chairman for Three-Year Term

New Delhi – The Government of India has appointed Ajay Seth, former Finance Secretary and a seasoned bureaucrat from the 1987 batch of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), as the new Chairman of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI). His term will span three years.

Seth, who retired from government service at the end of June, brings with him more than three decades of experience in public administration, with a deep focus on finance, taxation, and developmental policy. His appointment fills the leadership vacuum left by Debasish Panda, who completed his tenure as IRDAI chairman on March 13.

During his distinguished career, Seth held several critical roles, including Secretary of the Department of Economic Affairs, where he oversaw major financial reforms and infrastructure strategies. He is widely credited for steering India’s first sovereign green bond issuance and initiating the creation of the Infrastructure Finance Secretariat.

An alumnus of IIT Roorkee with a BTech in Mechanical Engineering, Seth later earned an MBA from Ateneo de Manila University, Philippines. He was also awarded the prestigious Prime Minister’s Award for Excellence in Public Administration in 2013 for his pioneering work in transforming Karnataka’s commercial tax administration.