LIC defends investment in Adani firms as Cong seeks high-level probe

Life Insurance Corporation of India today said its investments in Adani group companies were made independently even as the Congress demanded an investigation by Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee into the controversy triggered by a Washington Post report on the insurer. The US media house alleged that LIC’s investments took place after Adani shares took a beating in the markets.

In a statement posted on X, LIC said its investment decisions were taken “as per Board-approved policies after detailed due diligence”.

“The Department of Financial Services (in the Union Finance Ministry) or any other body does not have any role in such (investment) decisions. LIC has ensured the highest standards of due diligence and all 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 state-owned insurer said.

LIC said the US media house report carried 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”.

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh alleged that the savings of LIC’s 30 crore policyholders were “systematically misused” to benefit the Adani group.

In a statement, Ramesh said “disturbing revelations have just emerged in the media about how the Modani joint venture systematically misused LIC and the savings of its 30 crore policyholders”.

Citing “internal documents”, Washington Post alleged that “Indian officials drafted and pushed through a proposal to invest about Rs 33,000 crore of LIC funds in various Adani group companies in May 2025 when the ports-to-energy conglomerate was facing a debt pile and scrutiny in the US”.

The country’s largest insurer has, over the years, made investment decisions across companies. 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.

LIC is the country’s largest institutional investor with over Rs 41 lakh crore (over USD 500 billion) in assets.

It 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.

LIC 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. 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. (With PTI inputs)