State-owned insurance group and investment company, Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), on Saturday denied being “steered” to invest in the Adani Group by Indian finance ministry officials, saying it makes its investment decisions “independently” and with “detailed due diligence”.
In a statement posted on X, LIC said: “Department of Financial Services (in the Union Finance Ministry) or any other body does not have any role in such (investment) decisions.”
Saying its financial decisions are made in accordance with its board-approved policies, India’s largest insurer added that they are “in the best interest of all its stakeholders.”
“The investment decisions are taken by LIC independently as per Board-approved policies after detailed due diligence,” the post read.
“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,” it further said.
The firm’s statement was in response to a report by a leading US-based daily that has alleged officials orchestrated 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 over alleged bribery.
The newspaper’s report also highlighted LIC’s May 2025 investment of USD 570 million in Adani Ports & SEZ (APSEZ), which holds the highest ‘AAA’ credit rating in India.
Negating the role of the Department of Financial Services or any other body in influencing its investment decisions, the insurer said allegations were aimed at “tarnishing the reputation and image of LIC”.
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The report, it said, 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.”
LIC is India’s largest institutional investor with over ₹41 lakh crore (over USD 500 billion) in assets. It invests across 351 publicly listed stocks (as of early 2025), holding substantial government bonds and corporate debt as part of its diversified portfolio.
Over the years, its investment value in India’s top 500 companies has grown from ₹1.56 lakh crore in 2014 to ₹15.6 lakh crore.
Meanwhile, Adani Group, helmed by India’s second-richest man, Gautam Adani, has global investors like US’ largest funds BlackRock, Apollo, Japan’s largest banks Mizuho, MUFG, and Germany’s second largest bank DZ Bank, who invested in Adani debt in recent months.
Sources said Adani’s total debt stands at ₹2.6 lakh crore.
On the equity side, Reliance Industries Ltd., ITC, and the Tata Group are Adani’s major holdings.
LIC said it owns 4 per cent (₹60,000 crore) of Adani stocks versus 6.94 per cent (₹1.33 lakh crore) in Reliance, 15.86 per cent (₹82,800 crore) in ITC Ltd, 4.89 per cent (₹64,725 crore) in HDFC Bank, and 9.59 per cent (₹79,361 crore) in SBI. LIC also holds 5.02 per cent of TCS worth ₹5.7 lakh crore.
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