IDBI Federal Life Insurance Announces Title Sponsorship of Kolkata Marathon Leander Paes to be Face of the Event

IDBI Federal Life Insurance will be the new Title Sponsor of city’s only full Marathon, the Kolkata Marathon. The 9th edition will take place in the City of Joy on 6^th March 2016. Multiple Grand Slam winner and Padma Bhushan Awardee, Leander Paes will be ‘Face of the Event’.

The marathon will have 5 race categories – Full Marathon – 42.195 Km, Half Marathon – 21.097 Km, Open & Corporate Challenge – 10 Km each and the Fun Run – 5 Km. This annual property is among the few full marathons in India and has grown from 6,000 participants in its debut 9 years ago, to 15,000 participants in 2015. This is also an official qualifier race for the Rio Olympics.

Entry fee for the Full Marathon, Half Marathon & 10K Open is Rs.550 each, the Fun Run is Rs.300 and the Corporate Run (for a 6-member team) is Rs.3,500. Online registrations can be done through the event website www.kolkatamarathon.com. The 2016 IDBI Federal Life Insurance Kolkata Marathon will be flagged off from Red Road, in front of Ranger's Club.

‘Face of the event’ - Leander Paes said, “I am delighted to be associated with the IDBI Federal Life Insurance Kolkata Marathon. Kolkata has a special place in my heart as I have spent many formative years of my life here. To see the event grow from the first edition to the ninth edition, in terms of participation and even awareness in the city has been an interesting journey. One cannot emphasise the importance of good health enough, and with running, you can simply just get up and go! I’m proud to be a part of the Kolkata Marathon in my home city, and urge people to come out in great numbers.”

Speaking about the association, Vighnesh Shahane, CEO, IDBI Federal Life Insurance, said, “It is a matter of joy and pride for us to be associated with this prestigious running event as its Title Sponsor, now called the ‘IDBI Federal Life Insurance Kolkata Marathon’. Wellness is a key value we try to propagate within our organisation and running is integral to wellness. Our connection with the City of Joy is special as well, and we look forward to strengthening it further with this sporting association.”

Shahane added, “It is befitting that someone like Leander Paes, who is among the biggest stars of Indian sports is the face of the event and is supporting the marathon. At 42, Leander is fitter than most youngsters today and is a role model for the younger generation. Sports help us reach out to a wide audience, and tap a large demographic profile and is gender agnostic. Sports inspire qualities that we firmly identify with, and believe in. It is the vehicle of choice for brand-building initiatives for IDBI Federal. Being a sportsman myself, it gives me immense pleasure to contribute to India’s sporting fabric and help inspire positive change in future generations. We are committed to sports, and will continue to identify and add similar such sports initiatives to our portfolio.”

The IDBI Federal Life Insurance Kolkata Marathon, managed by HighLife Management, is held exclusively for Indian athletes to promote and encourage the best running talent in India.

Saurav Chatterjee, Director & CEO, HighLife Management, said, “It’s my immense pleasure to welcome IDBI Federal Life Insurance as the Title Sponsor for the 2016 edition of the Kolkata Marathon. We are delighted that Leander Paes has shown support towards the marathon and we welcome him on board to help promote the marathon in the city. Only Indian athletes are eligible for the prize money in the Kolkata Marathon, as it aims to promote athletics at the grassroots level in the state and to give Indian athletes a platform to showcase their talent. The IDBI Federal Life Insurance Kolkata Marathon continues to spread the message of health and wellness in the community. We hope to see tremendous enthusiasm and support for all the runners once again this year and look forward to the 'new' and exciting edition of Kolkata’s own Marathon."

About IDBI Federal Life Insurance 

IDBI Federal Life Insurance is one of India’s growing life insurance companies and offers a diverse range of wealth management, protection and retirement solutions to individual and corporate customers.

IDBI Federal Life Insurance Co Ltd is a joint-venture of IDBI Bank, India’s premier development and commercial bank, Federal Bank, one of India’s leading private sector banks and Ageas, a multinational insurance giant based out of Europe.

Having commenced operations in 2008, IDBI Federal was able to achieve breakeven within just 5 years; the Company’s passion for innovation and growth helped it achieve this feat.

Through a nationwide network of 2, 964 branches of IDBI Bank and Federal Bank, and a sizeable network of advisors and partners, IDBI Federal Life Insurance has achieved presence across the length and breadth of the country. As on March 31, 2015, the company has issued nearly 7.88 lakh policies with a sum assured of over Rs. 41,856 crore. IDBI Federal Life Insurance has total assets under management of 4,087 crore and a robust capital base of over 800 crores, as on March 31, 2015.

To know more, visit www.idbifederal.com.

About the sponsors of IDBI Federal Life Insurance Co Ltd

IDBI Bank Ltd. continues to be, since its inception, India’s premier industrial development bank. It came into being as on July 01, 1964 to support India’s industrial backbone. Today, it is amongst India’s foremost commercial banks, with a wide range of innovative products and services, serving retail and corporate customers in all corners of the country from 1389 branches and 2301 ATMs. The Bank offers its customers an extensive range of diversified services including project finance, term lending, working capital facilities, lease finance, venture capital, loan syndication, corporate advisory services and legal and technical advisory services to its corporate clients as well as mortgages and personal loans to its retail clients. As part of its development activities, IDBI Bank has been instrumental in sponsoring the development of key institutions involved in India’s financial sector – National Stock Exchange of India Limited (NSE) and National Securities Depository Ltd, SHCIL (Stock Holding Corporation of India Ltd), CARE (Credit Analysis and Research Ltd).

To know more, visit www.idbibank.com.

Federal Bank is one of India’s leading private sector banks, with a dominant presence in the state of Kerala. It has a strong network of over 1,142 branches and 1,312 ATMs spread across India. The bank provides over four million retail customers with a wide variety of financial products. Federal Bank is one of the first large Indian banks to have an entirely automated and interconnected branch network. In addition to interconnected branches and ATMs, the Bank has a wide range of services like Internet Banking, Mobile Banking, Tele Banking, Any Where Banking, debit cards, online bill payment and call centre facilities to offer round the clock banking convenience to its customers. The Bank has been a pioneer in providing innovative technological solutions to its customers and the Bank has won several awards and recommendations. 

To know more, visit www.federalbank.co.in.

Ageas is an international insurance group with a heritage spanning 190 years. Ranked among the top 20 insurance companies in Europe, Ageas has chosen to concentrate its business activities in Europe and Asia, which together make up the largest share of the global insurance market. These are grouped around four segments: Belgium, United Kingdom, Continental Europe and Asia and served through a combination of wholly owned subsidiaries and partnerships with strong financial institutions and key distributors around the world. Ageas operates successful partnerships in Belgium, the UK, Luxembourg, Italy, Portugal, Turkey, China, Malaysia, India and Thailand and has subsidiaries in France, Hong Kong and the UK. Ageas is the market leader in Belgium for individual life and employee benefits, as well as a leading non-life player through AG Insurance. In the UK, Ageas is the second largest Motor insurer and has a strong presence in the growing over 50's market. Ageas employs more than 13,000 people in the consolidated entities and over 30,000 in the non-consolidated partnerships, and has annual inflows of more than EUR 23 billion.

To know more, visit www.ageas.com.