Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), the country's largest state-owned insurer, emerged as a significant domestic equity investor during the June 2025 quarter, providing crucial support to Indian markets amid heightened volatility.
LIC made net equity purchases exceeding Rs 25,000 crore during the quarter, increasing its stake in 94 stocks while trimming holdings in 72. By the end of June 2025, LIC's portfolio comprised 345 listed stocks, with a total market value of Rs 16.84 lakh crore, up 10 percent from Rs 15.26 lakh crore at the close of the March quarter.
LIC's most prominent additions were to its existing holdings in Reliance Industries Ltd, where it acquired 2.56 crore additional shares worth Rs 3,840 crore. It also increased exposure to Info Edge India and Tata Consultancy Services, purchasing 2.2 crore and 83.43 lakh shares valued at Rs 3,285 crore and Rs 2,890 crore, respectively.
Other substantial additions included Coforge (Rs 2,730 crore), Infosys (Rs 2,500 crore), Hindustan Unilever (Rs 2,324 crore), HCL Technologies (Rs 2,260 crore), Tata Motors (Rs 1,880 crore), and Larsen & Toubro (Rs 1,790 crore).
On the selling front, LIC reduced its stake in several large-cap names. The largest divestment was in HDFC Bank, where it sold 1.87 crore shares worth Rs 3,750 crore. It also pared holdings in ICICI Bank (Rs 3,490 crore) and Divi's Laboratories (Rs 3,060 crore), along with Bharti Airtel (Rs 2,061 crore), Kotak Mahindra Bank (Rs 1,667 crore), Apollo Hospitals (Rs 1,590 crore), SRF Ltd (Rs 1,556 crore), and Eicher Motors (Rs 1,550 crore).
During the quarter, LIC entered the shareholding pattern of ten new companies, while its name disappeared from the list of shareholders in fourteen firms, as per regulatory disclosures. It is yet to be confirmed whether these exits were complete sell-offs or due to holdings falling below the one percent reporting threshold.
Among the names that disappeared from shareholdings were Coromandel International, Sanofi Consumer Healthcare, and Ceat Ltd, with their respective stake values last recorded at Rs 1,150 crore, Rs 740 crore, and Rs 175 crore.
In contrast, LIC made fresh entries into firms such as Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders (Rs 4,280 crore), Siemens (Rs 1,440 crore), IREDA (Rs 1,060 crore), Firstsource Solutions (Rs 950 crore), Samvardhana Motherson International (Rs 936 crore), PCBL Chemical (Rs 440 crore), and Himadri Speciality Chemicals (Rs 288 crore).
Among LIC's largest holdings, Reliance Industries Ltd leads with a stake valued at Rs 1.38 lakh crore, followed by ITC Ltd (Rs 82,342 crore) and HDFC Bank (Rs 68,430 crore). Other major investments include L&T (Rs 67,900 crore), State Bank of India (Rs 66,753 crore), Infosys (Rs 64,700 crore), Tata Consultancy Services (Rs 60,900 crore), IDBI Bank (Rs 54,756 crore), ICICI Bank (Rs 53,500 crore), and Bharti Airtel (Rs 49,500 crore).
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