The Institute of Actuaries of India (IAI) aims to grow the number of member associates and students from 10,000 to 35,000 in the next three years and 50,000 to 1 lakh by 2030-2035. The growth strategies of the IAI include increasing the number of active professionals and addressing challenges such as student dropouts.
“We are small and we are growing in a step-by-step manner. We are looking at around 35,000 in the next three years time in terms of the total number of members and by 2030-2035 we are hoping to touch 50,000 to 1 lakh members,” said R Arunachalam, President of IAI.
As of March 31, 2023, the number of actuaries was 8,218, which included 231 associates, 569 fellows, and 7,409 students.
According to Arunachalam, there is “no dearth of actuaries in the country today”. Also in the future, as the regulator and the government are looking at ‘insurance for all by 2047’, that would mean, “a lot more involvement from actuaries, as the insurance products will increase, and a lot of market needs to be covered, and that would require actuaries in large numbers,” he added.
Reducing dropouts
Actuaries are mathematically logically oriented people, however, the profession is competing with professions like engineering, medicine, and chartered accountancy. Additionally, the challenge to grow the number of actuaries in the country is also the dropouts.
The IAI President in order to reduce the dropouts is trying to restructure the codes in a way that when someone passes four to five papers over some time, they’ll get a certification. Secondly, IAI is tying up with educational institutes.
Future of actuaries’ services
Actuaries are mainly in the insurance industry. The role is to price the products in a way that provides protection to the public at large and takes care of the solvency of the insurance company.
The trinity of data, risk and financial modelling is the purview of IAI with opportunities in insurance, banking, and pension. In terms of future growth, the statutory actuary body is planning to expand in industries like FMCG, and research on the medical side, however, that’ll take time, Arunachalam said.
Now the time has come that we have to step out of our comfort zone and also contribute to other sectors,” Arunachalam said.
