‘Govt Does Not Advice LIC On Investments in Adani Group’: FM Nirmala Sitharaman | Image:
Sansad TV
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday said her ministry does not issue advisory or directions to Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) on the investment decisions made by the public sector insurer. In a written reply in the Lok Sabha, Sitharaman clarified that LIC’s investments in the Adani Group companies were in line with the laid down procedures and were a part of its portfolio in equity, as well as debt investments.
“The Ministry of Finance does not issue any advisory/direction to LIC in connection with matters related to investment of LIC fund,” Sitharaman said, adding that the decisions pertaining to LIC’s investments across companies – be it as debt or equity – are taken by ‘LIC alone following strict due diligence, risk assessment and fiduciary compliance’.
The strong clarification from Sitharaman came after a Washington Post report in October alleged that finance ministry officials had ‘orchestrated a plan to steer LIC into investing in the Adani group’ when it was at the epicenter of criticism in the US.
“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.
LIC’s Investments in Adani Group
It may be noted that LIC’s investments in Adani Group companies stands at Rs 38,658.85 crore. The company has also invested another Rs 9,625.77 crore in debt instruments of the conglomerate. Among the Adani Group firms, LIC has the highest exposure of Rs 8,646.82 crore in Adani-Total Gas Ltd.
LIC’s exposure in Adani group flagship, Adani Enterprises at Rs 8,470.60 crore is ranked 27th on its overall list. Rs 5,787.73 crore in Ambuja Cements is 40th. The Rs 5,681.10 crore in APSEZ ranks 43rd on LIC’s overall investment list, while Rs 3,729.68 crore invested in Adani Energy Solutions Ltd comes in at 65th, Rs 3,486.10 crore in Adani Green Energy Ltd is 71st and Rs 2,856.82 crore in ACC stands 81st.
LIC, India’s Largest Institutional Investor, Invested Across 351 Stocks
Highlighting that LIC, by virtue of being India’s largest institutional investor, has over Rs 41 lakh crore in assets, Sitharaman underlined that LIC’s investments are spread not just in one company or conglomerate, but across sectors and in 351 publicly listed stocks.
LIC’s investments in India’s top 50 companies have grown 10-fold from Rs 1.56 lakh crore to Rs 15.6 lakh crore since 2014. She also highlighted that the 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 LIC’s top investments, FM Sitharaman said that LIC’s highest equity investment is in Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) at Rs 40,901.38 crore, followed by Infosys – Rs 38,846.33 crore, TCS – Rs 31,926.89 crore, HDFC – Rs 31,664.69 crore and HUL – Rs 30,133.49 crore. LIC’s biggest debt exposure in the private sector is with HDFC Bank where the total outstanding stands at Rs 49,149.14 crore. This is followed by Rs 14,012.34 crore in RIL, Rs 13,435 crore in ICICI Bank, Rs 11,075 crore in Shriram Finance and Rs 9,625.77 crore in Adani Ports and SEZ Ltd.
“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,” Sitharaman said.
