Rising Inflation fuelled by supply side constraints on account of geopolitical tensions has led to increased financial volatility and affected global economic recovery. Global growth is projected at 3.6 percent in 2022-23 by International Monetary Fund (IMF) in their April' 22 outlook. The markets expect inflation to moderate over the medium term as central banks around the world have started responding. India is poised to grow at faster pace year-on-year among major economies as per the projections of IMF. Reserve Bank of India has maintained its GDP growth projection at 7.2 percent for FY23

The pandemic has significantly changed the consumer's behavior towards insurance products. Insurance awareness among the consumers have increased since pandemic. In the backdrop of pandemic, the need for financial immunity led to many first-time buyers of health and life insurance, the trend is expected to continue. The key factors driving the long-term potential of India's life insurance industry remains intact. Your Company is well positioned to capitalise on the emerging opportunities, backed by a facilitative regulatory environment and government policy support in order to increase the insurance penetration.

In FY 2022 life insurance industry has seen a growth of 13% in New Business Premium. The life insurance industry is expected to grow at a CAGR of 5.3% between 2019 to 2023. Growing middle class, young insurable population and growing awareness of the need for protection and retirement planning will be factors leading to the growth of life insurance in India.

We are delighted to report another successful year of robust performance and we have maintained our leadership position in private life insurance sector while caring for our customers and other stakeholders during this challenging times. It gives me great pleasure to place before you the highlights of your Company's performance for FY 22.

Your Company is one of the most trusted life insurance companies in India continuing to deliver a wide range of products and services in the remotest corners with a widespread distribution network. Your Company has been driven with a focus on customer centric profitable growth. The GWP grew by 17% to `587.60 billion and the Value of New Business stands at `37.04 billion. During FY22, the Company settled over 28,000 Covid-19 claims amounting to ` 19.57 billion. Indian Embedded Value (IEV) stands at ` 396.25 billion. The steady and persistent growth helped the Company to exceed the `2.5 trillion mark for AUM during this fiscal year.

The Company through its CSR activities intends to ameliorate conditions of the people from the underprivileged sections of the society by facilitating them with education, adequate health care services and contributing towards making their lives better.The thematic areas for CSR are Education & Healthcare , with focus on women, children and marginalised sections of society. The Company spent `267.28 million towards CSR in FY22.

Digitalization has made penetration and the coverage seamless. During these difficult times technology enabled the business continuity, introduced new and innovative products, and helped serve customers more efficiently. The Company has adopted smarter ways of on-boarding partners, identifying prospective customers and faster system integration. The Company is constantly using and enhancing analytics capabilities by using Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence (Al) for improving efficiency, reducing risk while growing business. An emphasis on technology initiatives across the value chain of agency channel has resulted in improved business performance.

The Government of India launched an ambitious project of "Financial Inclusion" to provide Banking and other Financial Services like Life and Non-Life Insurance to the Rural population. India being an underpenetrated insurance market aims to boost the development of micro-insurance as a coverage tool for low-income individuals and your Company is proud to be part of these initiatives.