By R. Suryamurthy
The Finance Ministry has confirmed that the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) invested ₹5,000 crore in secured non-convertible debentures issued by Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) earlier this year, but maintained that the government played no role in directing India’s largest insurer toward the transaction.
Responding to a starred question in the Lok Sabha, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the May 2025 investment — made amid continuing regulatory scrutiny of several Adani Group entities — followed LIC’s “established Standard Operating Procedures,” including due diligence, risk assessment and compliance requirements laid out under the Insurance Act and guidelines of IRDAI, SEBI and the Reserve Bank of India.
The minister underlined that the government does not issue advisories or directions to LIC on investment decisions and that these are taken independently by the insurer. “There is no direct oversight by Government on investments made by LIC,” the statement noted, adding that LIC’s investment processes are subject to audits, vigilance checks and regulatory inspections.
Parliamentarians Mohammad Jawed and Mahua Moitra had sought details on whether LIC had recently increased exposure to the Adani Group, whether any instructions had been issued by the government or the Department of Financial Services, and whether the insurer had evaluated implications for policyholders or market integrity before proceeding.
The statement tabled in the House showed that LIC’s overall exposure to the Adani Group — including equity and debt — stood at ₹48,284.62 crore as of 30 September 2025, spread across seven companies acquired or promoted by the conglomerate.
That figure has risen sharply from the insurer’s modest ₹2,041.6 crore exposure in 2007, reflecting the rapid expansion of the group and LIC’s broader strategy of investing in large-cap private sector companies.
The insurer now holds equity stakes worth ₹30,014.30 crore in Adani Enterprises, Adani Green Energy, Adani Total Gas, Adani Energy Solutions, Adani Ports & SEZ, ACC and Ambuja Cements — the latter two only entering the group’s fold after the 2022 acquisition.
Its single largest exposure within the group remains Adani Total Gas at ₹8,646.82 crore, followed closely by Adani Enterprises at ₹8,470.60 crore. LIC also holds debt exposure of ₹9,625.77 crore in Adani Ports & SEZ.
While providing company-level holdings for Adani Group entities, the ministry declined to release a full list of all private-sector investments held by LIC, citing commercial sensitivity and the potential impact on the insurer’s “operational debt interests.”
However, it did disclose that LIC’s total book value of equity holdings across public and private companies stood at ₹9.39 lakh crore as of September, with an additional ₹4.64 lakh crore in debt investments.
The insurer’s largest equity exposures in the private sector continue to be Reliance Industries (₹40,901.38 crore), Infosys (₹38,846.33 crore), TCS (₹31,926.89 crore), HDFC Bank (₹31,664.69 crore) and Hindustan Unilever (₹30,133.49 crore). On the public-sector side, State Bank of India tops the list with ₹26,872.98 crore, followed by Coal India and ONGC.
Debt exposure is similarly dominated by large government-linked infrastructure lenders, including Power Finance Corporation (₹48,662.98 crore), Indian Railway Finance Corporation and REC. The largest private-sector debt exposure is to HDFC Bank at ₹49,149.14 crore, with Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank and Shriram Finance also among the top five.
The ministry added that information on any company where LIC holds at least 1% equity is already publicly available under SEBI’s disclosure rules, though it reiterated that providing a complete inventory of LIC’s privat-sector holdings would not be “prudent.”
The disclosures come as opposition lawmakers continue to press the government over the insurer’s exposure to the Adani conglomerate following market turbulence in 2023 and the group’s subsequent efforts to deleverage and refinance. Monday’s reply largely stuck to statutory procedure and investment norms, signalling the government’s intent to distance itself from LIC’s portfolio decisions while emphasising safeguards and regulatory layers governing the insurer’s operations.
This report is from 5Wh news service. NewsGram holds no responsibility for its content.
[VS]
Suggested Reading: