Finance Ministry Does Not Issue Advisory to LIC on Investment Decisions: Sitharaman
India's largest insurer has, over the years, made investment decisions across companies based on fundamentals and detailed due diligence. Following due diligence as per established standard operating procedures (SOPs), it has bought shares across half a dozen listed companies of Adani Group, whose book value stands at over Rs 38,658 crore and invested another Rs 9,625 crore in debt instruments of the conglomerate
New Delhi: Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday said her ministry does not issue advisory or directions to Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) regarding its investment decisions, and emphasised that the investments that the state-owned insurer made in Adani Group were as per established standard operating procedures (SOPs).
India's largest insurer has, over the years, made investment decisions across companies based on fundamentals and detailed due diligence. Following due diligence as per established standard operating procedures (SOPs), it has bought shares across half a dozen listed companies of Adani Group, whose book value stands at over Rs 38,658 crore and invested another Rs 9,625 crore in debt instruments of the conglomerate.
“The ministry of finance does not issue any advisory/direction to LIC in connection with matters related to investment of LIC funds. The investment decisions of the state-owned insurer are taken by LIC alone following strict due diligence, risk assessment and fiduciary compliance,” Sitharaman said in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha.
Such decisions are governed by the provisions of the Insurance Act, 1938, as well as regulations issued by Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI), Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) (wherever applicable) from time to time, she said.
In October, a report in The Washington Post alleged that finance ministry officials orchestrated a plan to steer LIC into investing in the Adani group earlier this year, when the ports-to-energy conglomerate was facing a debt pile and scrutiny in the US. The report, however, highlighted LIC’s May 2025 investment of around Rs 5,000 crore or $570 million in Adani Ports & SEZ (APSEZ).
“LIC has invested Rs 5,000 crore in secured non-convertible debentures (NCD) issued by Adani Ports Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) in May 2025, after doing due diligence following established Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) as per their Board-approved policies,” Sitharaman said, adding that LIC has invested in the top 500 companies listed on NSE and BSE, and a major portion of its investment currently is in the larger companies out of these.
“Book value of LIC’s investment in Nifty 50 companies, as on September 30, 2025, is Rs 4,30,776.97 crore which is 45.85 per cent of its total equity investment. Detailing checks-and-balances that have been put in place, the investment functions of LIC are verified by concurrent auditors, statutory auditors, system auditors, internal financial control (IFC) auditors and internal vigilance team,” she added.
