The Union government informed the Lok Sabha that the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) invested ₹5,000 crore in secured non-convertible debentures (NCDs) of Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd (APSEZ) in May 2025, adding to what has become one of the insurer’s largest private-sector exposures. According to a written reply by Union minister of finance Nirmala Sitharaman LIC’s total investment in Adani group companies — across equity and debt — now stands at ₹38,658.85 crore, based on data available up to 30 September 2025.
In the written reply, Ms Sitharaman says the ₹5,000 crore investment was made after LIC carried out due diligence under its board-approved standard operating procedures (SOP) and stressed that the Ministry does not issue any advisories or directions to LIC regarding investment decisions.
Members of Parliament (MPs) Dr Mohammad Jawed and Mahua Moitra have asked the government about LIC's investment in Adani group companies and whether the government has reviewed potential implications of such investments for policyholders, market integrity and institutional independence.
LIC’s investment choices, the minister says, are governed by the Insurance Act, 1938 and regulations framed by Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI), Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), where applicable. The reply reiterated that “there is no direct oversight by the government on investments made by LIC."
LIC’s exposure spans seven Adani-linked entities, including: Adani Enterprises Ltd, Adani Total Gas Ltd, Adani Green Energy Ltd, Adani Energy Solutions Ltd, APSEZ, Ambuja Cements Ltd and ACC Ltd. As per the govt reply, the largest equity investments are in Adani Total Gas (₹8,646.82 crore), Adani Enterprises (₹8,470.60 crore) and Adani Ports (₹5,681.10 crore), while APSEZ also accounts for LIC’s largest debt exposure in a private company at ₹9,625.77 crore.
The Lok Sabha reply also provided historical data showing that while LIC’s presence in the Adani group was negligible in 2007 — with only ₹242.79 crore in combined holdings — its exposure has surged close to ₹39,000 crore by 2025, reflecting the insurer's increased weighting towards large private-sector companies. Ambuja Cements and ACC, which joined the Adani portfolio after the 2022 acquisition, now constitute an additional ₹8,644 crore of LIC’s exposure.
The minister clarified that LIC predominantly invests in India’s top-500 listed companies and that 45.85% of its total equity portfolio is concentrated in Nifty 50 stocks, valued at ₹430,776.97 crore as of 30 September 2025. Concurrent, statutory, system and IFC audits, along with vigilance oversight and periodic IRDAI inspections, examine LIC’s investment processes, she says. The reply emphasised that every investment follows “strict due diligence, risk assessment and fiduciary compliance.”
The government also released LIC’s ranking of exposure to Adani group companies compared with all its public and private holdings. Adani Total Gas (rank 25) and Adani Enterprises (rank 27) are among LIC’s top private-sector equity exposures, followed by Ambuja Cements (rank 40) and Adani Ports (rank 43). The remaining Adani entities fall within the top-100.
The reply shows that LIC’s total equity exposure across the public and private sectors stands at ₹939,493.77 crore, with debt investments at ₹464,741 crore. The insurer’s investments in private companies — ₹704,024.67 crore in equity and ₹202,046 crore in debt — far exceed its public-sector exposure in equities, indicating a portfolio increasingly aligned with the broader market rather than State-linked enterprises.
However, the ministry refused to provide a complete list of all private companies in which LIC has invested, arguing that such disclosure “may not be commercially prudent and could affect LIC’s operational debt interests.” Instead, it stated that information about companies where LIC holds 1% or more equity is already available in the public domain due to SEBI’s disclosure rules.
The reply comes amid ongoing national and international scrutiny of the Adani group’s finances, though the government made no reference to the surrounding controversies. Instead, it framed the investments as routine decisions made independently by LIC, following regulatory norms and supervised through multi-layered internal and statutory audits.
The government concluded by stating that further details of LIC’s investments are subject to regulatory frameworks and commercial confidentiality, while affirming that due processes were followed in the ₹5,000 crore APSEZ NCD purchase and all other holdings linked to the Adani group.
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