Govt to sell up to 6.5% in LIC at ₹382/share; to add ₹31k crore to disinvestment kitty

The Indian government plans to sell up to a 6.5% stake in the Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) through a two-day offer for sale (OFS) starting on August 4, 2026. The issue will be open for non-retail investors on Tuesday and retail investors on Wednesday. If the entire stake is subscribed, the sale of over 82.22 crore shares at the floor price of ₹382 per share will generate approximately ₹31,000 crore for the disinvestment kitty.

The Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) Secretary Arunish Chawla announced this on X. The floor price represents a 10% discount compared to LIC's closing price of ₹424.35 on the BSE on Monday. This stake sale will assist LIC in meeting the minimum public shareholding requirement set by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) ahead of schedule.

Sebi had given LIC until May 16, 2027, to achieve a minimum 10% public shareholding. Currently, the government holds a 96.5% stake in LIC, having sold 3.5% through an initial public offering (IPO) in May 2022 at a price range of ₹902-949 per share, raising around ₹21,000 crore. LIC's market capitalization stands at over ₹5.36 lakh crore.

LIC shares closed at ₹424.35 on Monday, down 0.12% from the previous close on the BSE. So far in the current fiscal year, the government has raised ₹21,082 crore through stake sales in seven public sector undertakings and remittances from the Unit Trust of India (SUUTI).