Nirmala Sitharaman’s Comments on LIC IPO Before Its Initial Public Offering

The government, according to Sitharaman, is currently concentrating on the valuation of public sector companies. In an exclusive interview with NDTV Profit’s Sanjay Pugalia, she stated that the focus is on improving all public sector enterprises (PSEs) to enhance their valuations. Since 1991, public undertakings have been striving to introduce internal professionalism, but with limited market orientation, as per Sitharaman.

LIC, the insurance behemoth, went public in May 2022 by selling a 3.5% stake. On Jan. 17, LIC surpassed the State Bank of India to become the country’s most valued PSU firm by market valuation, ranking ninth among the top 10 most valued firms. Additionally, LIC received approval from the Reserve Bank of India to acquire up to a 9.99% stake in HDFC Bank Ltd. on Jan. 26.

In the interim budget for 2024 presented by the Finance Minister, the FY25 gross market borrowings have been set at Rs 14.13 lakh crore, lower than the anticipated Rs 15 lakh crore. The fiscal deficit target for FY25 was set at 5.1%, aiming to reduce it to 4.5% by FY26.