The Washington Post reported on 25 October that Indian officials allegedly droughted and approved a plan in May to redirect approximately $3.9 billion in investments from the state-owned insurer to Adani Group enterprises. The Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) refuted the claims.
The claims were deemed “false” by LIC. In a statement, LIC said that the alleged remarks in the article seemed to have been made with the objective to “tarnish the reputation and image” of LIC and the solid financial sector foundations in India, as well as to “prejudice” the company’s established decision-making process.
According to LIC’s official response, the Washington Post’s accusations that LIC’s investment selections are impacted by outside forces are untrue, unfounded, and far from accurate. The report claims that LIC has never created a plan or document that lays out a strategy for LIC to invest money in the Adani group of firms.
Investment was Made as per Board Approved Policy: LIC
The group stated that LIC independently makes investment decisions in accordance with board-approved regulations following thorough due diligence. Such judgements are not made by the Department of Financial Services or any other organisation.
According to LIC, it has made sure that the “highest standards of due diligence” have been followed and that all of its investment decisions have been made in the best interests of all of its stakeholders by adhering to current policies, act provisions, and regulatory requirements. The $570 million LIC investment in Adani Ports & SEZ (APSEZ), which has the highest ‘AAA’ credit rating in India, was also highlighted in the report.
The Adani Group was under investigation and dealing with a mountain of debt at the time in the United States. LIC also has a sizable amount of corporate debt and government bonds. It spreads risk through a broadly diversified portfolio.
Less than 2% of LIC’s total debt is held by the Adani group, which is led by Gautam Adani, the second-richest man in India. Global confidence in the firm is shown in the recent investments made in Adani debt by international investors such as Germany’s second-biggest bank, DZ Bank, and Japan’s major banks, Mizuho and MUFG, as well as the US’s largest funds, BlackRock and Apollo.
Response from Adani Group
In reaction to the Washington Post article, the Adani Group stated that it vehemently denies any role in any purported government schemes to allocate LIC funding. The organisation also disclosed that LIC makes investments in a variety of corporate companies; therefore, it is false to imply that Adani receives preferential treatment. Additionally, LIC has profited from its investment in our portfolio. The business stated that “our growth predates PM Modi’s national leadership” and that claims of excessive political favour are baseless.
Quick Shots
•LIC
rejects The Washington Post’s claim of a $3.9 billion investment plan for
Adani Group.
•Terms
the allegations “false” and intended to “tarnish” its reputation and India’s
financial system.
•LIC
asserts investment decisions are made independently, not influenced by any
government department.
•Adani Group denies any link to
government plans involving LIC funds; says LIC invests across multiple
companies.
Sales of life insurance policies are a vital source of revenue for any life insurance company and their primary motivation for doing business. Because today’s business operations are so intertwined, claim settlement services significantly influence life insurance policy sales. People can use life insurance plans to cover a variety of hazards throughout life.
The insurance industry grew rapidly in the first two decades of the twentieth century. In 1938, it increased from 44 firms with a total business-in-force of Rs.22 crore to 176 companies with a total business-in-force of Rs.298 crore. The call for the life insurance sector to be nationalised had been voiced before, but it gained traction in 1944 when a measure to modify the Life Insurance Act 1938 was filed in the Legislative Assembly. However, it was not until 1956 that life insurance was nationalised in India when the Life Insurance Corporation was passed by the Indian Parliament on June 19.
The Life Insurance Corporation of India was established on September 1, 1956, by the Ministry of Finance of the Government of India, with the goal of making life insurance more widely available, particularly in rural areas, with the goal of reaching all insurable persons in the country and providing adequate financial cover at a reasonable cost.
LIC’s Objectives
The primary goal of LIC is to promote life insurance across the country, particularly in rural regions and among the socially and economically disadvantaged, to reach all insurable individuals and provide them with appropriate financial protection against death at a fair cost.
Maximise people’s savings mobilisation by making insurance-linked savings sufficiently appealing. Another goal is to function as trustees for the insured public in their individual and collective capacities, meeting the community’s diverse life insurance demands as the social and economic environment changes.
LIC intends to involve all employees to the best of their abilities to advance the insured public’s interests by delivering prompt and courteous service.
Growth of LIC
In 1956, LIC had 5 zone offices, 33 divisional offices, and 212 branch offices in addition to its corporate office. Because life insurance contracts are long-term contracts that require a range of services during the policy’s life, LIC felt the necessity to extend operations and open a branch office at each district headquarters in subsequent years.
The LIC was reorganised, and it created a considerable number of new branch offices. It shifted servicing tasks to branches due to the reorganisation, and departments were declared accounting units. It had a significant impact on the company’s success. You can observe that from about INR 200 crores in new business in 1957, the company only exceeded INR 1000 crores in 1969-70, and it took another ten years for LIC to reach the INR 2000 crore barrier. However, after reorganisation in the early 1980s, LIC had already surpassed INR 7000 crores in Sum Assured on new policies by 1985-86.
LIC has practically monopolised the solicitation and sale of life insurance plans in India, having existed as a massive insurance business for almost 60 years. LIC has expanded its operations outside of India to 14 countries to meet the insurance needs of Non-Resident Indians.
With an asset value of INR 2,529,390 crores, LIC is now India’s largest life insurance business, controlled by the government. LIC’s headquarters are in Mumbai.
It currently operates eight zonal offices and 113 divisional offices around the nation. It has 2,048 branches across India in various towns and cities.
In addition, LIC maintains a network of over 15 million agents that sell life insurance to the general population. The LIC had a total life fund of $28.3 trillion as of 2019. In the 2018–19 fiscal year, the total value of sold insurance was $21.4 million. In 2018–19, LIC resolved 26 million claims. With 290 million policyholders, it is the largest insurance company in the world.
The Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC of India) is one of India’s largest financial organisations, providing comprehensive financial solutions for all aspects of life. It has a customer base of around 23 crores, making it the largest insurance company globally. After Indian Railways, it is the second-largest real estate owner in the country. The LIC advertises through newspapers, radio, television, billboards, and other media.
LIC’s Products and Services
The Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) offers a variety of life insurance plans. As a government-owned Life Insurance Firm, LIC’s policies are in high demand and appeal to a broad spectrum of consumers.
LIC For endowment, LIC offers the Jeevan Pragati, LIC Jeevan Labh, LIC Single Premium Endowment Plan, LIC’s New Endowment Plan, New Jeevan Anand, LIC’s Jeevan Rakshak, LIC’s Limited Premium Endowment Plan, LIC’s Jeevan Lakshya, LIC’s Aadhaar Shila, and LIC’s Aadhar Stambh.
LIC Jeevan Umang specialises in life insurance.
LIC’s Bima Shree, LIC’s Jeevan Shiromani, LIC’s New Money Back Plan- 20 years, LIC’s New Money Back Plan-25 years, LIC New Bima Bachat, LIC’s Jeevan Tarun are some of the money-back plans available. Money-back plans include LIC’s Anmol Jeevan II and LIC’s e-term Plan.
Their pension schemes include the Pradhan Mantri Vaya Vandana Yojana, LIC New Jeevan Nidhi, and LIC’s Jeevan Akshay.
The LIC of India’s Agents Housing Scheme provides house loans to the company’s agents. It has a separate subsidiary, LIC-HFL, from which many housing plans are moved for fairer distribution.
Employees are given meal coupons.
In September 2010, the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC of India) introduced a one-of-a-kind benefit for all workers. The number of meal vouchers is determined by each team member’s position in the hierarchy.
Team member participation in sports is encouraged.
Employees of the LIC of India are encouraged to participate in various sporting activities to improve their physical fitness and overall personality. Employees have also spoken on behalf of the company at different national and international levels. It has recruited numerous workers from its Sports Recruitment Quota to maintain competitive excellence in sports and to compete on an equal footing with other businesses.
Training its employees
LIC has begun to provide training to its staff at all levels of the organisation. It has established a distinct Human Resources Development / Organizational Development (HRD/OD) Department to develop and enhance capabilities, commitment and foster a learning and performance-focused culture.
LIC Life Insurance’s marketing approach is pretty basic. Its primary goal is to educate consumers about the company’s different policies and brands. Personal selling, exhibits, demonstrations at events, advertising, and innovative schemes have all been used by LIC to achieve this goal.
A mobile advertising van circulates across rural regions, raising awareness of the firm. LIC-Life Insurance has a website and a webpage where it provides thorough information on each potential inquiry to satisfy customers.
LIC is continually working to strengthen “Brand LIC” and strengthen the brand’s link with growing market segments. It has done so by maintaining a regular media presence in national and regional outlets.
It has also sponsored several national and international programmes and a variety of activities such as newspaper campaigns and continuous coverage of goods in several publications.
FAQs
Who is the founder of LIC?
LIC has been founded by Government of India in 1956.
What are the Subsidiary companies of LIC?
LIC subsidiary companies are:
LIC Pension Fund Limited
LIC Cards Service Limited
IDBI Bank Limited
What is the number of employees in LIC?
There are 1,14,000 employees (2020) working for LIC, and over 10 Lakh LIC agents.
The Government of India owns the Life Insurance Corporations of India (LIC), which is an insurance and investment business. The Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) was established on September 1, 1956, when the Parliament passed the Life Insurance of India Act, which nationalised the Indian insurance business. The state-owned LIC was formed by the merger of over 245 insurance companies and provident organisations. It both encourages and results in the institutionalisation or mobilisation of savings.
Since then in the field of life insurance, the LIC has near-monopoly, as the amount of life insurance business through postal insurance and state insurance is relatively much smaller. Life insurance is a very important form of long term contractual savings. The total volume of the insurance business has been growing in the country with the spread of knowledge and consciousness about insurance in the country.
However LIC can grow at a faster rate if the organizational and operational efficiency of LIC can be improved, new kinds of insurance covers are introduced, its services are extended to smaller lesser-known places and the general price level is kept stable. As of 2019, the Life Insurance Corporation of India had a total life fund of ₹28.3 trillion. The total value of sold policies in the year 2018-19 is ₹21.4 million. Life Insurance Corporation of India settled 26 million claims in 2018–19. It has 290 million policyholders.
LIC invests in various sectors such as cement, banks, chemicals and fertilizers, transmission and electricity, engineering, construction and infrastructure, electrical and electronics, healthcare, hotels, finance and investments, information technology, metals and mining, motor vehicles, oil and natural resources, retail, textiles, transportation and logistics.
Among those companies, LIC’s holding I term of value in 2012 was established to be the highest in ITC (₹27,326 crores), followed by RIL (₹21,659 crores), ONGC (₹17,764 crores), SBI (₹17,058 crores), L&T (₹16,800 crores), and ICICI Bank (₹10,006 crores). The share price drop in ITC on 18 July 2017 had caused LIC a major loss of around 7000 crores during the financial year.
Where LIC also holds a 51% stake in IDBI Bank, making it the only insurer in India to own a bank, since regulations prohibit insurers from holding more than 15% stake in any company.
LIC subsidiaries
LIC Pension Fund Limited
LIC Pension Fund Limited is India’s first pension fund. It was set up by Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) in November 2007. LIC is one of India three public sector pension fund managers and has a one-third share in all investments made through Central and State Government NPS. It is also open to the private sector as a fund manager. LIC Pension Fund is the first Pension Fund Company in India to be incorporated and to receive commencement of business certificate.
The government of India introduced the New Pension System (NPS), with effect from 2004. Pension Fund Regulatory And Development Authority (PFRDA) through a process of competitive bidding, has appointed Life Insurance Corporation (LIC), State bank of India (SBI), UTI Asset management company (UTI –AMC) and as The Pension Fund under the NPS. “NPS-Lite Model” is designed to ensure ultra-low administrative and transactional costs, so as to make such small investments viable.
National Pension System NPS Lite makes pensions possible for small investors. It is an initiative of the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA), the apex body established by the Government of India to regulate and develop the pension sector in India. NPS extends help to the weaker and economically disadvantaged sections of the society with their limited investment potential. This is why PFRDA has launched NPS Lite to specifically target the marginal investors and promote small savings during their productive life. It also aims at building up a corpus sufficient enough to buy an annuity for their old age.
LIC Cards services limited came into existence in 2008 as a 100% subsidiary of LIC to bring out its own credit cards in the market. LIC offers four types of credit cards and each of these cards come with some common features and some distinct features that make them unique. LIC credit cards are best suited for you if you regularly pay a large LIC premium. LIC cards are uncapped, while other cards have a cap cashback and reward points that can be earned on premium payments.
The types of LIC Cards
The types of LIC cards are:
LIC Gold Credit Cards (for regular users)
LIC Platinum Credit Cards (for shopping and rewards)
LIC Titanium Credit Cards ( for travel and hotel booking)
LIC Signature Credit Card (for premium services)
Fee/Charge
Amount/rate
Finance Charges on Revolving Credit and Cash Advance
3.25% p.m. (46.78% annual)
Free Credit Period
Free Credit Period Up to 50 days
Cash Withdrawal Fee
2.5% of the amount withdrawn (min. Rs. 500)
Cash Payment Fee
Rs. 100
Over Limit Fee
3% of the amount (min. Rs. 500)
Foreign Currency Mark-up Fee
3.5% of the transaction amount
There are certain criteria that the financial institution looks into before accepting your credit card application. Your credit score, age, monthly income, location etc. are some of the parameters that you should keep in mind before you apply for a credit card. To apply for a LIC credit card, you should be above 18 years and should either be a LIC agent or a LIC policyholder. The document required to apply for a LIC credit card are:
Proof of Identity – PAN Card, Aadhaar card, Driver’s License, Passport, Voter’s ID, Overseas Citizen of India Card, Person of Indian Origin Card, Job card issued by NREGA, Letters issued by the UIDAI.
Proof of Address – Aadhaar card, Driver’s License, Passport, Utility Bill not more than 3 month’s old, Ration Card, Property Registration Document, Person of Indian Origin Card, Bank Account Statement.
Proof of Income – Latest one or 2 salary slips (not more than 3 months old), Latest Form 16, Last 3 months’ bank statement.
IDBI Bank Ltd., as a full-service universal bank provides a wide gamut of financial products and services encompassing deposits, loans payment services and investment solutions. Understanding today’s fast-paced and digital world they offer an innovative range of digital services that complement the pan India network of branches and ATMs. The bank also has 24×7 customer care facilities to help its customers reach out. IDBI Bank Ltd is operating as a full-service universal bank that serves customers from all segments.
As a universal bank, IDBI Bank Ltd. touches the lives of millions of Indians through a wide variety of banking products and services. The Bank also has an established presence in associated financial sector businesses including capital market, investment banking and mutual fund business. IDBI’s very business philosophy is to provide relevant financial solutions, ensure maximum customer convenience through easy access to branches and ATMs as well as digital offerings and excellence in customer service.
IDBI Subsidiaries
The vision is to be the most preferred and trusted bank enhancing value for all stakeholders defining and shaping our day-to-day business, helping us to build long-lasting relationships. IDBI Bank Limited has been categorized as a ‘Private Sector Bank’ for regulatory purposes by the Reserve Bank Of India with effect from January 21, 2019, consequent upon Life Insurance Corporation Of India acquiring 51% of the total paid-up equity share capital of the bank. To cater to its ever-expanding needs, IDBI Bank has formed subsidiaries and joint ventures across diverse areas of the Banking and Financial System.
Some of its subsidiaries are:
IDBI Capital Markets and Securities Limited (ICMS)
Its businesses include Merchant Banking, Stock Broking, Distribution of Financial Products, Corporate Advisory Services, Debt Arranging and undertaking, Portfolio management of pension and Research Services.
IDBI Intech Limited (IIL)
The major business activities of the company are Information technology services, information security practices, national contact centre and outbound sales team.
IDBI Asset Management Limited (IAML)
IAML is the investment manager of schemes launched by IDBI Mutual Fund. The Fund offers a bouquet of products inequity and risk profiles of investors.
IDBI Trusteeship Services Ltd (ITSL)
The company operations are acting as trustees to securitization transactions, acting as Bond/Debenture trustee, Security trusteeship assignments, Share pledge Trustee, Venture Capital Fund, Safe Keeping and other trusteeship services.
IDBI Federal Life Insurance Company Limited (IDBI Federal)
The Company’s life insurance business comprises individual life and pension and group life, including non-participating, health and linked segments.
FAQ
In which sectors LIC invest?
LIC invests in various different sectors such as cement, banks, chemicals and fertilizers, transmission and electricity, engineering, construction and infrastructure, electrical and electronics, healthcare, hotels, finance and investments, information technology, metals and mining, motor vehicles, oil and natural resources, retail, textiles, transportation and logistics.
What is LIC Pension fund limited?
LIC Pension Fund Limited is India’s first pension fund. It was set up by Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) in November 2007. LIC is one of India three public sector pension fund managers and has a one-third share in all investments made through Central and State Government NPS. It is also open to the private sector as a fund manager. LIC Pension Fund is the first Pension Fund Company in India to be incorporated and to receive commencement of business certificate.
How many types of Cards does LIC provide?
LIC Gold Credit Cards (for regular users) LIC Platinum Credit Cards (for shopping and rewards) LIC Titanium Credit Cards ( for travel and hotel booking) LIC Signature Credit Card (for premium services)
