NEW DELHI – India's state-owned Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) holds significantly less investment in Adani Group companies compared to other major Indian conglomerates, according to finance ministry officials. They confirmed LIC's equity exposure to Adani stocks stands at approximately Rs 60,000 crore, or about $7.2 billion. This clarification comes amid recent reports questioning the insurer's investment decisions. ^{[1][2][3][4][5]}### Diverse Investment Strategy Officials emphasized that LIC's investment choices are made independently. They follow board-approved policies and thorough due diligence. The Department of Financial Services (DFS) and government think tank Niti Aayog do not play a role in these decisions, officials added. LIC is a large institutional investor. It manages over Rs 55 lakh crore ($640 billion) in assets as of March 2025. I^[6][1][4][7]ts portfolio is highly diversified, spreading risk across more than 350 publicly listed stocks. ^[3][5]LIC's equity holdings in other major Indian groups are substantially higher. For instance, the insurer holds 6.9% of Reliance Industries, valued at approximately Rs 1.3 lakh crore. It also owns 15.9% of ITC, worth about Rs 82,800 crore. Furthermore, LIC’s stake in HDFC Bank is 4.9%, amounting to roughly Rs 64,725 crore. The company holds 9.6% in State Bank of India (SBI), valued at around Rs 79,361 crore. LIC's largest holding in terms of value is in TCS, where it holds 5.02% worth Rs 5.7 lakh crore. The^{[1][2][3][4][5]} investment in Tata Group is estimated at Rs 1.3 lakh crore, and in Aditya Birla Group, it is Rs 42,600 crore. ##^[1]# Addressing Recent Allegations Recent reports, including one from The Washington Post in October 2025, alleged that government officials drafted a plan to direct nearly $3.9 billion (approximately Rs 33,000 crore) from LIC into Adani Group companies. These reports suggested the move aimed to stabilize the conglomerate. LIC has strongly refuted these claims. It called them "false, baseless and far from the truth." LI^{[1][8][9][4][10][5][7][11][12][13]}C stated that no such proposal or document was ever prepared by the insurer. Ada^[8][9]ni Group also denied any involvement in alleged government plans to direct LIC funds. "LIC invests across multiple corporate groups — and suggesting preferential treatment for Adani is misleading," an Adani Group spokesperson told The Washington Post. "Moreover, LIC has earned returns from its exposure to our portfolio." In M^[8][12]ay 2025, LIC invested $570 million (Rs 5,000 crore) in bonds issued by Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ). These bonds carried an 'AAA' credit rating. Officials noted this specific investment was less than 1% of LIC's annual investment of around Rs 5.5 lakh crore. ### ^{[1][2][3][14][15][8][4][5][7]}Past Scrutiny and Market Volatility LIC's investments in Adani Group previously came under scrutiny following the Hindenburg Research report in January 2023. The US-based short-seller accused Adani Group of stock manipulation and accounting fraud. These allegations led to a significant drop in Adani stock prices. Foll^{[14][16][17][10][11][13]}owing the Hindenburg report, LIC disclosed its total equity exposure to Adani Group companies was around Rs 36,000 crore. This represented less than 1% of its total assets under management at that time. Despi^[13]te the market volatility, LIC made an additional investment of approximately Rs 300 crore into Adani Enterprises, the group's flagship company, in January 2023. Offi^[16]cials reiterated that LIC's investment value in India's top 500 companies has grown tenfold since 2014, from Rs 1.56 lakh crore to Rs 15.6 lakh crore. This growth reflects strong fund management. LIC's^[2][3][4][7] exposure to the Adani Group's total debt is also less than 2% of the conglomerate's overall debt of Rs 2.6 lakh crore. LIC ^{[2][3][8][4][5][12]}continues to maintain that its investments are part of a well-diversified portfolio, made with careful consideration and adherence to regulatory guidelines.