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Suresh Agarwal named MD and CEO designate of Mahindra-Manulife JV
Industry veteran to steer new 50:50 venture in India’s growing life cover market
MUMBAI: Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. and Manulife have named Suresh Agarwal as the managing director and chief executive officer designate of their proposed life insurance joint venture, subject to regulatory approvals.
The 50:50 partnership, first announced in November last year, marks Mahindra’s formal entry into the life insurance arena. With Agarwal at the helm, the venture is looking to blend rural reach with global insurance expertise in what is one of the world’s fastest-growing life cover markets.
Agarwal brings close to three decades of experience spanning life and general insurance, as well as corporate and retail lending. He played a pivotal role in building and scaling Kotak’s life insurance business and later led the transformation of Kotak General Insurance, including its joint venture formation with Zurich Insurance. Known for his sharp eye on multi-channel distribution, governance and operational efficiency, he has built a reputation for pairing ambition with execution.
Currently serving as managing director and chief executive officer of Mahindra Insurance Brokers Limited since September 2025, Agarwal will step down from that role on 30 April 2026 and assume his new responsibilities from 1 May 2026, subject to regulatory clearances.
The joint venture aims to offer long-term savings and protection products tailored to India’s diverse and evolving needs. The idea is simple but powerful: combine Mahindra’s strong presence in rural and semi-urban India with Manulife’s global capabilities in agency building, product development and underwriting, particularly for urban customers.
Mahindra Group executive vice president and member of the group executive board Puneet Renjhen, described life insurance as a key pillar in India’s push towards deeper financial inclusion. He said the partnership, backed by Mahindra’s trusted brand and governance standards along with Manulife’s global expertise, is well placed to build a customer-focused franchise. With Agarwal’s appointment, he added, the business is set to scale with discipline and long-term value creation at its core.
Manulife chief marketing officer for Asia and principal officer for the proposed insurance JV Harshal Shah, called India one of the most compelling long-term opportunities in global life insurance. He said the company had been deliberate in choosing both the timing and the partner for its India entry. The ambition, he noted, is to become the first choice for customers through a digital-first approach and solutions tailored to varied protection needs.
With leadership now in place, the Mahindra-Manulife venture is gearing up to turn intent into action, bringing fresh competition and renewed energy to India’s life insurance landscape.
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Reserve Bank of India cancels Paytm Payments Bank licence
Central bank cites compliance failures; curbs tighten as wind-up looms
MUMBAI: India’s banking watchdog delivered its sharpest blow yet to Paytm Payments Bank, cancelling its licence and effectively ending its ability to operate as a bank under the law.
The Reserve Bank of India said the entity can no longer conduct banking business under the Banking Regulation Act, citing concerns that its affairs were not being run in the interest of depositors or the public and that it had failed to meet licence conditions.
The move escalates a crackdown that has been building for months. The bank had already been barred from onboarding new customers since March 11, 2022, and later faced restrictions on deposits, credit and wallet top-ups. In January 2024, the central bank ordered it to stop accepting fresh deposits, pointing to persistent non-compliance, including lapses in customer due diligence, use of funds and technology systems.
Operationally, the bank is now on a tight leash. It may process withdrawals of existing deposits and facilitate loan referrals through banking correspondents, but it cannot take fresh deposits.
The central bank said it would apply to the high court to wind up the bank.
Paytm sought to ringfence the fallout. In a regulatory filing, it said the licence cancellation applies to Paytm Payments Bank Limited, a separate entity, and should not be attributed to One 97 Communications. It added that there is no exposure or material business arrangement with the bank and that it operates independently, without Paytm’s board or management involvement.
“As informed earlier, Paytm (One 97 Communications Limited) and its services, which have been operating without interruption, will continue to operate uninterrupted. These include the Paytm app, Paytm UPI, Paytm Gold and all other services offered by its subsidiaries and associated companies,” the company said.
The distinction may reassure users of the app ecosystem, but the regulator’s verdict is unequivocal. After years of warnings, caps and curbs, the payments bank experiment at Paytm is being shut down—decisively, and with little room left to manoeuvre.
