Equity exposure of LIC in Adani Group firms less than 5%, says Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman

FinMin: Equity exposure of LIC to Adani Group firms less than 5%

Finance Ministry Denies Allegations of Steering LIC's Investments

Finance Ministry data presented in Lok Sabha on Monday revealed that the investment exposure of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) in the Adani Group of companies is less than 5 per cent.

Investment Exposure Details

The total book value of LIC's investment exposure in the equity of public and private sector companies, as on September 30, was over ₹9.39 lakh crore.
All the holdings in Adani Group of Companies were over ₹38,600 crore, or 4.1 per cent.
Finance Ministry data showed that none of the Adani Group companies feature in the top 25, in terms of amount.
LIC has invested another ₹9,625.77 crore in debt instruments of the conglomerate.

Finance Ministry Stresses Independence in Investment Decisions

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman emphasized that the Finance Ministry does not issue advisory or directions to the LIC regarding its investment decisions.

“The Ministry of Finance does not issue any advisory/direction to LIC in connection with matters related to investment of LIC fund,” she said.

The investment decisions of the State-owned insurer, she added, are taken by “LIC alone, following strict due diligence, risk assessment and fiduciary compliance”.

Regulatory Framework

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.

International Scrutiny and LIC's Investments

In October, a report in The Washington Post said that the 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.

Sitharaman clarified that LIC has invested ₹5,000 crore in secured non-convertible debentures (NCD) issued by the 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.

Checks and Balances

The investment functions of LIC are verified by concurrent auditors, statutory auditors, system auditors, internal financial control (IFC) auditors and internal vigilance team.

“Periodical inspections are also done by the sector Regulator IRDAI in this regard,” she said.