Government Plans Further Stake Sale In LIC Via FPO In FY27, Aims To Meet 10% Public Shareholding Norm

New Delhi: The government is actively considering further reducing its stake in insurance behemoth LIC through a public offering in the next financial year, Financial Services Secretary M Nagaraju said on Monday. Currently, the government holds a 96.5 per cent stake in Life Insurance Corporation (LIC). It had sold 3.5 per cent through an initial public offering (IPO) in May 2022 at a price band of Rs 902-949 per share. The share sale fetched the government around Rs 21,000 crore. Talking to reporters, Nagaraju said, "LIC public offer has to be done slowly. We have asked DIPAM (Department of Investment and Public Asset Management) to look at government stake dilution in LIC." "LIC FPO may come in the next financial year if all approvals are in place and market conditions are conducive," he added. The government is required to offload another 6.5 per cent stake in the public sector life insurer to meet the mandated 10 per cent public shareholding requirement by May 2027. The quantum of stake sale, price and timing would be decided in due course. The country's biggest insurer, LIC, has a market capitalisation of Rs 5.08 lakh crore, with shares settling at around Rs 804 on the BSE on Monday. On the financial front, the state-owned insurer reported a 32 per cent year-on-year jump in net profit to Rs 10,053 crore in the three months ended September 2025 from Rs 7,621 crore in the corresponding period last fiscal. The increase in profit was driven by a lower commission outgo. The total income improved to Rs 2,39,614 crore in the three months ended September 2025 compared to Rs 2,29,620 crore in the year-ago period.