Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday stressed that the Finance Ministry does not issue any directive to the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) regarding its investment choices, asserting that the state-owned insurer’s exposure to the Adani Group was made strictly in line with its standard operating procedures (SOPs).

LIC, the country’s largest insurer, has historically based its investment calls on company fundamentals and rigorous due diligence. In line with these procedures, it has acquired shares in about half a dozen listed Adani Group firms — with a combined book value of Rs 38,658.85 crore — and invested an additional Rs 9,625.77 crore in the conglomerate’s debt instruments.

“The Ministry of Finance does not issue any advisory/direction to LIC in connection with matters related to investment of LIC fund,” Sitharaman said in a written response in the Lok Sabha.

She added that investment decisions are taken by “LIC alone following strict due diligence, risk assessment and fiduciary compliance”.

These decisions, she noted, are guided by the Insurance Act, 1938, and regulations laid down by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI), Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), wherever applicable.

Her clarification comes against the backdrop of an October report in The Washington Post, which alleged that finance ministry officials played a role in nudging LIC to invest in the Adani Group earlier this year, at a time when the conglomerate was under scrutiny in the US and grappling with debt concerns.

The report pointed specifically to LIC’s May 2025 investment of USD 570 million (around Rs 5,000 crore) in Adani Ports & SEZ (APSEZ).

Responding to this, Sitharaman said, “LIC has invested Rs 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.” She added that LIC routinely invests in the top 500 companies listed on the NSE and BSE, with most of its current portfolio concentrated in the largest among them.

“Book value of LIC's investment in Nifty 50 companies, as on September 30, 2025, is Rs 4,30,776.97 crore which is 45.85 per cent of its total equity investment,” she said.

She further stated that LIC’s investment operations are subject to multiple layers of scrutiny: concurrent audits, statutory audits, system audits, internal financial control (IFC) audits and oversight by the internal vigilance team.

“Periodical inspections are also done by the sector Regulator IRDAI in this regard,” the minister said. “There is no direct oversight by the Government on investments made by LIC.”

Listing LIC’s major private-sector exposures, Sitharaman said the insurer’s largest equity holding is in Reliance Industries Ltd at Rs 40,901.38 crore, followed by Rs 38,846.33 crore in Infosys, Rs 31,926.89 crore in Tata Consultancy Services, Rs 31,664.69 crore in HDFC Bank and Rs 30,133.49 crore in Hindustan Unilever.

On the debt side, its biggest private-sector exposure is to HDFC Bank at Rs 49,149.14 crore. This is followed by Rs 14,012.34 crore in Reliance Industries, Rs 13,435 crore in ICICI Bank, Rs 11,075 crore in Shriram Finance and Rs 9,625.77 crore in Adani Ports and SEZ Ltd.

Within the Adani Group, LIC’s highest exposure is in Adani-Total Gas Ltd at Rs 8,646.82 crore, ranking 25th in its overall portfolio. Its stake in Adani Enterprises stands at Rs 8,470.60 crore (ranked 27th), followed by Rs 5,787.73 crore in Ambuja Cements (ranked 40th). Investments worth Rs 5,681.10 crore in APSEZ stand at 43rd, while Rs 3,729.68 crore in Adani Energy Solutions Ltd place it at 65th. Exposure to Adani Green Energy Ltd (Rs 3,486.10 crore) ranks 71st, and Rs 2,856.82 crore in ACC ranks 81st.

“As per SEBI guidelines, all listed companies have to disclose the names of the shareholders holding 1 per cent or more of the shares held in the company. Accordingly, the information about companies, where LIC holds 1 per cent or more equity stake, is available in the public domain,” she added.

The insurer, which manages assets exceeding Rs 41 lakh crore (over USD 500 billion), is far from a single-purpose entity. LIC’s holdings cover 351 listed firms across nearly every major sector. Its investment in India’s top 500 companies has expanded tenfold since 2014 — from Rs 1.56 lakh crore to Rs 15.6 lakh crore — demonstrating robust portfolio growth. It also maintains substantial holdings in government securities and corporate bonds, ensuring broad diversification.

LIC’s exposure to the Adani Group constitutes less than 2% of the conglomerate’s total debt.

After the Washington Post report surfaced, LIC reiterated that its investments in the Adani Group were made independently.

“The Department of Financial Services (in the Union Finance Ministry) or any other body does not have any role in such (investment) decisions,” LIC had said in a statement on X. “The investment decisions are taken by LIC independently as per Board-approved policies after detailed due diligence. 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.”