Birla Sun Life Insurance bags micro insurance mandate from global project

• BSLI to offer micro Insurance solutions to over 100,000 people
• Part of a DFID funded Asian project
• To be implemented in UP, Bihar & MP

MUMBAI: In a major development that will see Birla Sun Life Insurance making inroads into micro insurance, the company has been selected to partner a prestigious international development project for promoting a sustainable livelihood program in three states of India – Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.

This 4.6 million pound development project has been initiated by the UK-based Research Into Use (RIU) project and funded by Department for International Development (DFID) and spans across the next three years.

GY Associates Ltd, UK is the lead partner for this project with RIU. For the project, G Y Associates has a contractual agreement with Centre for Promoting Sustainable Livelihood (CPSL), a Patna based NGO to form 10,000 Self Help Groups (SHGs) and ICAR (Indian Council of Agricultural Research) to provide technical support to the project. CPSL has identified BSLI as a coalition partner to provide micro insurance to the SHG members.
The project will directly benefit 2,000 villages and around 10,000 Self Help Groups and over 100,000 group members. It will cover a total of 500,000 direct beneficiaries in the rural areas.

"We are extremely delighted at this unique opportunity to partner a prestigious international project and to work at the grass root level. With this New Year gift, we are positioned to begin a new era in our service. As a partner, BSLI will create awareness of the need of life insurance among the Self Help Group Members formed under the project and thus generate demand for Micro Insurance Products and make the insurance plan accessible and affordable to that segment. Our objective is to provide social and financial security to the SHG members," said Ajay Srinivasan Chief Executive, Financial Services, Aditya Birla Group.

Hindalco rights gets overwhelming GDR response

MUMBAI, September 30, 2008:The right offer to the company's GDR holders is subscribed to the extent of 99.30%.

The GDR entitlement was to the tune of 56.42 million shares, against which the subscriptions came in for 56.03 million shares.
• India's largest rights issue by Kumar Mangalam Birla promoted Hindalco is all set to sail through with the merchant bankers and FIs committing to subscribe.
• Market sources say the merchant bankers have committed to pick up 40% while FIs – LIC and GIC – agreed to pick up 15%. The promoters have already decided to buy 50% of the rights issue shares.
• Hindalco has come out with 525,802,403 equity hares with a face value of Re 1 each at a premium of Rs 95 per equity share.
• The issue size works out to Rs 5047.7 crores.
• Issue opened on September 22 and will close on October 10.
• The lead managers to the issue are: ABM AMRO Securities (India) Private Ltd, Citigroup Global Markets India Private Ltd, Deutsche Equities India Private Ltd, DSP Merrill Lynch, and SBI Capital Markets Ltd.
• Heavy demand of the Renunciation of the Rights – volume in excess of 14 million as of yesterday