LIC’s investment value in India’s top 500 companies has grown 10-fold since 2014 — from Rs 1.56 lakh crore to Rs 15.6 lakh crore — reflecting strong fund management.
Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) on Saturday denied reports by The Washington Post that alleged Indian officials orchestrated a plan in May to steer roughly $3.9 billion in investments from the state-owned insurer to Adani Group companies. Calling the claims “false”, India’s largest insurer said its investments in the Adani group companies have been made independently and in accordance with its board-approved policies, following detailed due diligence.
“Department of Financial Services (in the Union Finance Ministry) or any other body does not have any role in such (investment) decisions,” LIC said in a statement posted on X.
Over the years, LIC made investment decisions across companies based on fundamentals and detailed due diligence. Its investment value in India’s top 500 companies has grown 10-fold since 2014 — from Rs 1.56 lakh crore to Rs 15.6 lakh crore — reflecting strong fund management, news agency PTI reported.
“The investment decisions are taken by LIC independently as per Board-approved policies after detailed due diligence,” LIC said.
“LIC has ensured the highest standards of due diligence and all its investment decisions have been undertaken in compliance with extant policies, provisions in the Acts and regulatory guidelines, in the best interest of all its stakeholders.”
The Washington Post has alleged officials drafted 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.
The report highlighted LIC’s May 2025 investment of USD 570 million in Adani Ports & SEZ (APSEZ), which holds the highest ‘AAA’ credit rating in India.
In a strongly-worded rebuttal to the allegations, LIC said the report carries statements “with the intentions to prejudice the well-settled decision-making process of LIC and also to tarnish the reputation and image of LIC and the strong financial sector foundations in India.”
LIC, which is India’s largest institutional investor with over Rs 41 lakh crore (over USD 500 billion) in assets, invests across 351 publicly listed stocks (as of early 2025) spanning virtually every major business group and sector. It also holds substantial government bonds and corporate debt. Its portfolio is highly diversified, spreading risk.
LIC’s exposure to the Adani group is less than 2 per cent of the conglomerate’s total debt, helmed by India’s second-richest man, Gautam Adani.
Global investors like US’ largest funds BlackRock, Apollo, Japan’s largest banks Mizuho, MUFG, and Germany’s second largest bank DZ Bank have also invested in Adani debt in recent months, reflecting global confidence in the group.
According to a PTI report, LIC owns 4 per cent (Rs 60,000 crore) of Adani stocks versus 6.94 per cent (Rs 1.33 lakh crore) in Reliance, 15.86 per cent (Rs 82,800 crore) in ITC Ltd, 4.89 per cent (Rs 64,725 crore) in HDFC Bank, and 9.59 per cent (Rs 79,361 crore) in SBI. LIC holds 5.02 per cent of TCS worth Rs 5.7 lakh crore.