The Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), the country’s largest life insurer, on Saturday vehemently denied a report by The Washington Post which alleged that Indian officials had fast-tracked a proposal to steer approximately $3.9 billion in investments from LIC to the Adani Group.
In a strong rebuttal, LIC labeled the allegations that its investment decisions are influenced by external factors as “false, baseless, and far from truth.”
Key Denials by LIC:
- No Roadmap or Plan: LIC explicitly stated that “No such document or plan as alleged in the article has ever been prepared by LIC, which creates a road map for infusing funds by LIC into Adani group of companies.” The Washington Post article had claimed this proposal was fast-tracked in May this year.
- Independent Decisions: The insurer affirmed that all investment decisions are taken independently based on Board-approved policies following detailed due diligence.
- No External Role: LIC clarified that the “Department of Financial Services or any other body does not have any role in such decisions.” It stressed that its decisions comply with the highest standards of due diligence, extant policies, Acts, and regulatory guidelines, always in the best interest of its stakeholders.
LIC further asserted that the statements in the article “appear to have been made 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.”
Financial Performance: The strong denial comes as LIC reported a solid financial performance, with its consolidated net profit for the June quarter of the current financial year (Q1 FY26) rising by 3.91 per cent year-on-year (YoY). The profit increased to Rs 10,957 crore from Rs 10,544 crore recorded in the same period of the previous year (Q1 FY25).