LIC earlier stated that its investments in the Adani Group constitute less than 2% of the conglomerate’s total debt exposure.
New Delhi: Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) invested ₹38,658.85 crore in Adani Group equities, and an additional ₹9,625.77 crore in the conglomerate’s debt instruments, all in line with its standard operating procedures (SOPs), Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman informed the Lok Sabha on Monday.
Responding to a question, the minister stressed that the Finance Ministry had no role in directing or advising LIC on 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 in a written reply.
Sitharaman said LIC’s investment choices are made independently, following “strict due diligence, risk assessment and fiduciary compliance.” These are governed by the Insurance Act, 1938, and regulations issued by IRDAI, RBI and SEBI, she noted.
The clarification comes amid questions raised by a recent Washington Post report alleging that ministry officials “orchestrated a plan” to push LIC into investing in the Adani Group earlier this year, including a USD 570 million (approx. ₹5,000 crore) investment in Adani Ports & SEZ (APSEZ) in May 2025.
Rejecting any suggestion of interference, Sitharaman said, “LIC has invested ₹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 pointed out that LIC invests in the top 500 companies listed on the NSE and BSE, and a large portion of its holdings are in the country’s biggest firms. As of September 30, 2025, its investment in Nifty 50 companies alone stood at ₹4,30,776.97 crore, accounting for 45.85% of its total equity portfolio.
| LIC’s investment exposure as on 30 Sep 2025 (₹ in crore) | ||
| Particulars | Book value – Equity | Book value – Debt |
| Public Sector | 2,35,469.10 | 2,62,695.00 |
| Private Sector | 7,04,024.67 | 2,02,046.00 |
| Total | 9,39,493.77 | 4,64,741.00 |
She highlighted the robust oversight mechanism, stating that LIC’s investment functions are regularly reviewed by concurrent auditors, statutory auditors, system auditors, IFC auditors, an internal vigilance team and inspections from IRDAI. “There is no direct oversight by the Government on investments made by LIC,” she reiterated.
Among private companies, LIC’s largest equity exposure is in:
- Reliance Industries: ₹40,901.38 crore
- Infosys: ₹38,846.33 crore
- TCS: ₹31,926.89 crore
- HDFC Bank: ₹31,664.69 crore
- Hindustan Unilever: ₹30,133.49 crore
On debt, LIC’s biggest exposure is to HDFC Bank at ₹49,149.14 crore, followed by Reliance Industries (₹14,012.34 crore) and ICICI Bank (₹13,435 crore).
For the Adani Group, LIC’s equity exposure spans multiple listed entities, including:
- Adani Total Gas: ₹8,646.82 crore
- Adani Enterprises: ₹8,470.60 crore
- Ambuja Cements: ₹5,787.73 crore
- Adani Ports (APSEZ): ₹5,681.10 crore
- Adani Energy Solutions: ₹3,729.68 crore
- Adani Green Energy: ₹3,486.10 crore
- ACC: ₹2,856.82 crore
LIC earlier stated that its investments in the Adani Group constitute less than 2% of the conglomerate’s total debt exposure.
Published: 05 Dec 2025, 02:45 pm IST
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