Life Insurance Corporation of India

Life Insurance Corporation of India, commonly known as LIC, is India's largest life-insurance company and one of the country's most important financial institutions. It was created by Parliament under the Life Insurance Corporation Act, 1956, after the Indian life-insurance industry was nationalised. LIC formally began operations on 1 September 1956, combining 245 Indian and foreign insurers and provident societies under a single public-sector corporation. Its founding mandate was not limited to commercial insurance: the corporation was expected to broaden access to life insurance, especially in rural and economically underserved communities, while providing financial protection at an affordable cost. LIC's core business is the design, underwriting, distribution and servicing of individual and group life-insurance policies. Its product portfolio spans protection-oriented term insurance, participating and non-participating savings policies, endowment plans, whole-life insurance, money-back policies, child-focused plans, pension and annuity products, unit-linked insurance plans, riders, micro-insurance and group insurance. The company also participates in government-backed social-security and insurance initiatives, including the Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana, and has developed products and distribution arrangements for rural, low-income and institutional customers. The corporation operates through a large domestic branch and agency network, supported by bancassurance, corporate agents, direct channels, digital platforms and alternate distribution arrangements. LIC's official information describes a network of more than 5,000 branch, satellite and mini offices as of 31 March 2025, alongside a substantial field force and agency infrastructure. Its overseas presence includes branches, subsidiaries and joint ventures serving Indian communities and local customers in parts of the Gulf, South Asia, Africa and other international markets. LIC is also a major institutional investor. Premiums and policyholder funds are invested across government securities, equities, banks, infrastructure, financial services, manufacturing, energy, information technology, healthcare, consumer businesses and other sectors. This gives the corporation a role beyond insurance: it is one of India's largest long-term pools of domestic capital and a prominent shareholder in listed Indian companies. Its investment activities are conducted within the regulatory and actuarial framework governing life insurers, with policyholder obligations remaining central to the management of its funds. For decades, LIC was a statutory, wholly government-owned corporation operating in a largely protected market. Insurance liberalisation from 2000 onward introduced private-sector competitors and foreign-investment participation, forcing LIC to modernise products, customer service, technology and distribution while preserving its broad reach and public-sector identity. The company has continued to hold a leading position in Indian life insurance, although competition has increased across protection, savings, retirement and investment-linked products. The Government of India initiated LIC's transition to a publicly traded company as part of a broader programme of public-asset monetisation and capital-market reform. LIC's initial public offering opened on 4 May 2022 and closed on 9 May 2022. The offering sold a minority stake held by the government, and the company's equity began trading on Indian exchanges in May 2022. Listing increased public disclosure and shareholder accountability while leaving the state in control. In the mid-2020s, LIC's strategic priorities included increasing the share of non-participating and protection products, improving profitability and value-of-new-business metrics, expanding digital servicing, modernising legacy systems and using data, cloud computing and artificial intelligence in sales and customer operations. Initiatives such as t…

Life Insurance Corporation of India emerged from the nationalisation of India's life-insurance business in the 1950s. Insurance in India had developed through a mixture of British, Indian and community-based enterprises. Early providers included the Oriental Life Insurance Company, established in Calcutta in 1818, and later Indian institutions such as the Bombay Mutual Life Assurance Society, founded in 1870. Postal Life Insurance began in 1884, while a number of Indian and foreign insurers entered the market during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The sector expanded, but weakly capitalised companies, inconsistent standards and the disruption caused by political and economic crises undermined public confidence. The first major regulatory framework was introduced through the Life Insurance Companies Act of 1912 and the Provident Fund Act of the same year. The Indian Insurance Companies Act of 1928 improved government access to industry statistics, and the Insurance Act of 1938 consolidated and strengthened regulation of life and non-life insurance. By the time of nationalisation, the government and political leaders increasingly argued that life insurance should serve a wider social purpose rather than remain concentrated in commercially attractive urban markets. Nationalisation took place in stages. On 19 January 1956, the government assumed control of the management of life-insurance companies through an ordinance. Parliament subsequently enacted the Life Insurance Corporation Act, 1956, which provided the statutory basis for the new corporation. LIC was established on 1 September 1956 with an initial government capital contribution of Rs. 5 crore. Approximately 245 Indian and foreign insurers and provident societies were brought into the new public corporation. At formation, LIC had five zonal offices, 33 divisional offices and 212 branch offices. Its declared mission was to spread life insurance more widely, particularly in rural areas, and to provide adequate financial cover at reasonable cost. The corporation expanded rapidly after its creation. It decentralised operations, moved service responsibilities closer to branches and developed a broad agency and field-office system intended to reach district headquarters and smaller communities. The expansion was accompanied by the growth of group insurance, salary-savings arrangements and rural products. In 1981, LIC pursued organisational restructuring and introduced initiatives aimed at improving decision-making and access. The Jana Raksha Policy was designed for rural customers, while technology adoption began to alter administration and customer information services. In the 1980s, LIC also introduced group-insurance arrangements for landless agricultural labourers and established LIC Housing Finance as an associated business. LIC diversified beyond traditional policy administration during the late 1980s and 1990s. It created a mutual-fund trust in 1989, supported housing finance and expanded its social and rural-insurance activities. The Rural Group Life Insurance Scheme was launched in 1995. In 1998, the corporation introduced an Interactive Voice Response System in Mumbai and installed touchscreen information kiosks across India, early examples of its long-running effort to modernise service delivery. The corporation also developed an international footprint. A foreign branch in the United Kingdom was established in 1960, and later operations expanded through branches, subsidiaries and joint ventures in markets including Fiji, Mauritius, Bahrain, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and the Gulf states. These operations often served Indian expatriates as well as local policyholders and gave LIC a broader regional presence without changing its India-centred identity. A decisive change came after the Indian government liberalised the insurance sector in 2000. Private insurers and international insurance groups entered the market, introducing new sales models, product structures, technology and customer propositions. LIC retained its public-sector ownership and nationwide reach but had to compete in protection, savings, retirement and investment-linked categories. In 2001, it launched Bima Plus, its first unit-linked insurance plan, and entered a strategic alliance with Corporation Bank. Digital servicing, bancassurance and product segmentation became increasingly important as customers gained more alternatives. LIC established the Golden Jubilee Foundation in 2006, marking fifty years of operations. The foundation supports education, poverty alleviation and improved living conditions, with scholarships for meritorious students from lower-income households among its best-known activities. The corporation continued to combine commercial insurance with public-policy functions, including participation in government social-insurance schemes and relief measures for affected policyholders. The next major institutional transition was the move toward public listing. The Government of India announced its intention to sell a minority stake in LIC through an initial public offering. The offer opened on 4 May 2022 and closed on 9 May 2022, with the shares subsequently listed on the National Stock Exchange of India and BSE Limited. The transaction made LIC a public company in capital-market terms while preserving government control. It also brought greater disclosure requirements, investor scrutiny and pressure to communicate financial performance using metrics familiar to listed insurance companies. In the 2020s, LIC's strategy increasingly focused on product mix, profitability, digital distribution and customer experience. It launched or refreshed non-participating savings products, annuities, term plans, unit-linked plans and child-oriented offerings. Jeevan Utsav, introduced in November 2023, became a prominent whole-life savings product offering guaranteed additions and lifelong income features. The corporation also introduced digital onboarding through ANANDA, customer self-service through the LIC Digital app and portal, and the DIVE programme for wider digital transformation. These initiatives address the tension between LIC's legacy scale and the need for faster, more personalised and technology-enabled service. As of the mid-2020s, LIC remained India's dominant life insurer, a large institutional investor and a government-controlled listed corporation. Its historical strengths are scale, recognition, distribution and public trust. Its continuing challenges include intense private-sector competition, changing customer expectations, product complexity, the modernisation of legacy systems and the need to balance policyholder interests, public ownership and listed-company accountability.

1. 2026Board composition updated under R. Doraiswamy

   LIC's board composition listed R. Doraiswamy as CEO and Managing Director, alongside three other managing directors, a government nominee and independent directors.

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2. 2025Fiscal 2024-25 scale and digital-transformation programme reported

   LIC reported major asset, premium and life-fund figures for the year ended 31 March 2025 and described the DIVE programme, digital channels and ANANDA onboarding platform.

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3. 2024Digital servicing and product diversification accelerated

   LIC expanded digital customer service and introduced products including Jeevan Dhara II, Index Plus and Amritbaal.

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4. 2023Jeevan Utsav introduced

   LIC launched Jeevan Utsav, a non-linked, non-participating individual savings and whole-life insurance plan with guaranteed additions and lifelong income features.

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5. 2022LIC initial public offering and exchange listing

   LIC's IPO was open from 4 to 9 May 2022, followed by listing on India's principal stock exchanges and the sale of a minority government stake.

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6. 2021Government announces proposed LIC public offering

   The Government of India advanced plans to list LIC and proposed increasing its authorised capital to facilitate the offering.

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7. 2006Golden Jubilee Foundation established

   LIC created the Golden Jubilee Foundation to support education, poverty alleviation and improved living conditions for disadvantaged communities.

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8. 2001Bima Plus and banking alliance introduced

   LIC launched Bima Plus, its first unit-linked insurance plan, and entered a strategic alliance with Corporation Bank.

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9. 2000Insurance sector liberalisation begins

   India opened the insurance sector to private-sector competition, ending LIC's near-exclusive position and reshaping the life-insurance market.

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10. 1998Interactive customer-information services introduced

    LIC inaugurated an Interactive Voice Response System in Mumbai and deployed touchscreen information kiosks in multiple locations.

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11. 1995Rural Group Life Insurance Scheme launched

    The corporation launched the Rural Group Life Insurance Scheme to extend group protection in rural communities.

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12. 1989LIC Housing Finance and mutual-fund diversification

    LIC established LIC Housing Finance as an associated business and formed a mutual-fund trust, expanding its financial-services footprint.

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13. 1981Operational decentralisation and rural-insurance initiatives

    LIC undertook organisational restructuring and introduced initiatives such as the Jana Raksha Policy to extend insurance access to rural customers.

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14. 1960United Kingdom branch established

    LIC opened a foreign branch in the United Kingdom, beginning a long-term programme of overseas expansion.

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15. 1956Life insurance nationalised and LIC created

    The Government of India nationalised the life-insurance industry and brought 245 insurers and provident societies into the new Life Insurance Corporation of India.

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16. 1938Insurance Act strengthens sector regulation

    The Insurance Act consolidated earlier rules and created a more comprehensive framework for regulating life and non-life insurers.

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17. 1912First dedicated life-insurance legislation

    The Life Insurance Companies Act and Provident Fund Act introduced statutory regulation of life-insurance and provident-fund business in India.

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18. 1870Bombay Mutual Life Assurance Society founded

    Bombay Mutual Life Assurance Society became an early Indian-owned life-insurance institution and an important predecessor in the development of domestic insurance.

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19. 1818Oriental Life Insurance Company established

    The Oriental Life Insurance Company was established in Calcutta and is generally identified as the first life insurer established in India.

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A government-controlled, nationwide life insurer positioned around trust, long-term financial protection, savings, retirement security, broad accessibility and institutional stability. Its historic public-service mandate and extensive distribution network differentiate it from newer private-sector competitors, while digital transformation and product redesign seek to make the brand more responsive and competitive.

• Term assurance plansProtection insurance

  LIC's term-insurance portfolio provides death-benefit protection for a specified policy term, generally without the savings or investment components found in endowment products. Current examples include New Tech-Term, New Jeevan Amar, Digi Term, Yuva Term, Saral Jeevan Bima and Bima Kavach. The group addresses customers seeking relatively straightforward protection, as well as digitally oriented and younger buyers. Some plans include return-of-premium or credit-life features, while riders can add accidental-death, disability, critical-illness or premium-waiver benefits.

• Jeevan UmangWhole-life insurance

  Jeevan Umang is a whole-life participating plan combining long-term life cover with survival benefits after the premium-paying period. It represents LIC's traditional proposition of combining protection with disciplined savings and possible participation in declared bonuses. The plan is aimed at customers who want continuing cover together with periodic income or maturity-related benefits rather than a pure term-insurance contract.

• Jeevan UtsavWhole-life savings insurance2023

  Introduced on 29 November 2023, Jeevan Utsav is a non-linked, non-participating individual savings and whole-life insurance plan. It provides life cover together with guaranteed additions during the premium-paying term and offers regular-income or flexi-income benefits for eligible surviving policyholders. LIC positioned it as a modern guaranteed-benefit product with flexible premium-paying terms and optional rider support.

• Money-back plansParticipating savings insurance

  LIC's money-back family provides periodic survival benefits during the policy term while retaining a death benefit for the policyholder's beneficiaries. The portfolio includes New Money Back Plan variants for 20 and 25 years, the New Children's Money Back Plan, Jeevan Tarun and Bima Shree. These products are designed for customers who want scheduled cash flows for education, household needs or other medium- and long-term financial goals.

• Jeevan Dhara IIDeferred annuity2024

  Jeevan Dhara II is an individual savings and deferred-annuity product introduced during fiscal 2023-24. It addresses retirement planning by allowing policyholders to accumulate benefits before the annuity phase begins. The product forms part of LIC's effort to strengthen its retirement and guaranteed-income range as India's population, employment patterns and demand for post-retirement cash flow evolve.

• Index PlusUnit-linked insurance plan2024

  Index Plus is a regular-premium unit-linked insurance product introduced in fiscal 2023-24. It combines life insurance with investment exposure through linked funds and includes guaranteed additions tied to the annualised premium under the product structure described by LIC. Unlike traditional participating savings products, its value is connected to investment-fund performance and therefore carries market-related risk for the policyholder.

• AmritbaalChild-oriented savings insurance2024

  Amritbaal is an individual savings and endowment product designed to help families build funds for a child's higher education and other future needs. It uses guaranteed additions rather than direct market-linked investment exposure, making it consistent with LIC's traditional savings proposition. The product was among the new offerings introduced by LIC during fiscal 2023-24 as the corporation expanded its child and family financial-planning range.

• Group and social-insurance productsGroup life and social protection1987

  LIC administers group life, superannuation, pension, rural and micro-insurance arrangements for employers, institutions, government-linked programmes and economically vulnerable communities. Historical examples include the Rural Group Life Insurance Scheme and the Landless Agricultural Labourers Group Insurance initiative. LIC also participates in government-sponsored protection programmes such as the Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana, allowing the corporation to combine large-scale administration with low-ticket social coverage.

• 2024Bima Sakhi Yojana

  India

  Bima Sakhi was presented as a women-focused initiative to encourage participation in insurance distribution and support financial inclusion through trained women agents.

  Outcome. LIC reported that enrolment crossed 50,000 during the early phase of the initiative.

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• 2023Jeevan Utsav market campaign

  India

  LIC promoted Jeevan Utsav as a whole-life savings product combining guaranteed additions, lifelong risk cover and regular or flexi-income benefits.

  Outcome. LIC's 2023-24 reporting described Jeevan Utsav as well accepted and an important contributor to the performance of its new non-participating product range.

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• 2015Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana participation

  India

  LIC participated in the national low-cost renewable-term-life programme intended to broaden access to basic death-benefit protection through bank-linked enrolment.

  Outcome. The programme reinforced LIC's role in financial inclusion and public-policy insurance delivery.

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• 2006Golden Jubilee Foundation and Scholarship

  India

  LIC established a charitable foundation focused on education, poverty alleviation and living conditions, including scholarships for meritorious students from lower-income families.

  Outcome. The foundation extended LIC's social-impact positioning beyond insurance and became one of the corporation's best-known philanthropic programmes.

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• 1956Nationwide life-insurance expansion

  India

  LIC's foundational public-service programme sought to extend life insurance beyond urban and higher-income customers, particularly toward rural communities and socially or economically underserved groups.

  Outcome. The initiative shaped LIC's branch, agency and field-force expansion and became a lasting part of the brand's public-sector identity.

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• 2025Accelerate digital transformation through DIVEStrategy

  LIC's legacy scale and extensive physical distribution required modern customer journeys, faster servicing and better integration of data and technology.

  What changed. LIC expanded the customer portal and LIC Digital app, introduced ANANDA digital onboarding and described DIVE as a programme covering sales, customer service, cloud, artificial intelligence, analytics and legacy-system modernisation.

  Aftermath. The programme established digital service and technology renewal as central strategic priorities for the listed corporation.

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• 2023Launch Jeevan UtsavProduct launch

  LIC sought to strengthen its non-participating product range and offer a guaranteed-benefit whole-life proposition.

  What changed. The corporation launched Jeevan Utsav on 29 November 2023 as an individual, savings and whole-life insurance plan with guaranteed additions and income options.

  Aftermath. LIC later described the product as well accepted and an important contributor to its non-participating business strategy.

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• 2022Execute the LIC initial public offeringM&A

  The government proceeded with a minority stake sale while retaining control of the corporation.

  What changed. The IPO opened from 4 May to 9 May 2022 and offered a government-held minority equity stake for listing on BSE and NSE.

  Aftermath. LIC became a publicly traded government-controlled company, with expanded disclosure obligations and a broader shareholder base.

  Government equity stake offered. Government ownership before IPO → 3.5% stake offered in the IPO (May 2022)

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• 2021Prepare LIC for public listingM&A

  The Government of India sought to monetise a minority stake in LIC and bring the corporation into the listed-company framework.

  What changed. The government proposed an IPO, increased LIC's authorised capital to facilitate listing and prepared regulatory filings and offer documentation.

  Aftermath. The preparation culminated in LIC's 2022 IPO and created a new regime of public-market disclosure and investor scrutiny.

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• 2000Compete in a liberalised insurance marketStrategy

  India opened life insurance to private-sector and foreign-participated competition, ending LIC's protected near-monopoly.

  What changed. LIC diversified products, expanded bancassurance and digital services, and introduced investment-linked offerings such as Bima Plus.

  Aftermath. The corporation retained its leadership but faced sustained pressure to modernise products, service, technology and performance reporting.

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• 1981Decentralise operations and expand rural accessStrategy

  LIC needed to serve a geographically dispersed population and improve decision-making after its initial period of centralised expansion.

  What changed. The corporation reorganised operations, expanded branch-level responsibilities and introduced rural-oriented products including Jana Raksha Policy.

  Aftermath. The changes supported wider distribution and strengthened LIC's identity as a mass-market insurer rather than a primarily urban financial institution.

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• 1956Create a national life-insurance corporationStrategy

  The Indian government concluded that fragmented private provision did not adequately support broad social protection, rural access and public confidence in life insurance.

  What changed. Parliament enacted the Life Insurance Corporation Act, 1956, and the government consolidated 245 insurers and provident societies into LIC.

  Aftermath. LIC became the dominant life insurer in India and built a nationwide operating and agency system around a public-service mandate.

  Initial government capital contribution. Rs. 5 crore (1956)

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• 2026LIC appoints Sanjay Lohiya as government nominee director

  The Government of India nominated Sanjay Lohiya, Special Secretary in the Department of Financial Services, to LIC's board with effect from 13 May 2026.

  Leadership change
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• 2026LIC announces a bonus equity share issue

  LIC disclosed an issue of bonus equity shares in April 2026, subject to the applicable corporate and shareholder processes. It was described as the company's first bonus issue after listing.

  Other
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• 2026LIC presents a dividend to the Government of India

  LIC reported the presentation of a dividend cheque of Rs. 12,207.25 crore to the Union Finance Minister in 2026.

  Other
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• 2025LIC launches its digital marketing technology platform under Project DIVE

  LIC announced a marketing-technology platform under its Digital Innovation and Value Enhancement programme to support next-generation customer engagement and modernise distribution.

  Product launch
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• 2025LIC reports fiscal 2024-25 assets, premium income and life-fund scale

  For the year ended 31 March 2025, LIC reported total assets of approximately Rs. 56.23 lakh crore, total premium income of approximately Rs. 4.88 lakh crore and a total life fund of approximately Rs. 47.85 lakh crore.

  Other
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• 2024LIC expands its non-participating and retirement product portfolio

  During fiscal 2023-24, LIC introduced products including Jeevan Dhara II, Index Plus and Amritbaal, broadening its annuity, unit-linked and child-oriented offerings.

  Product launch
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• 2024LIC promotes Bima Sakhi as a women-focused distribution initiative

  The Bima Sakhi initiative was launched to support women's participation in insurance distribution and financial inclusion, with LIC reporting rapid early enrolment.

  Campaign
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• 2023LIC launches Jeevan Utsav whole-life savings plan

  LIC introduced Jeevan Utsav on 29 November 2023 as a non-linked, non-participating individual savings and whole-life plan offering guaranteed additions and lifelong income or flexi-income benefits.

  Product launchProduct generation
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• 2023LIC introduces a group post-retirement medical benefit plan

  The corporation added a non-participating group savings product aimed at post-retirement medical-benefit obligations and institutional customers.

  Product launch
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• 2023LIC discloses ongoing litigation involving the corporation

  LIC's securities disclosure identified litigation in which the corporation was a respondent before the Bombay High Court. The filing described the matter as contested and did not establish wrongdoing by LIC.

  Lawsuit
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1. LIC official history
2. The particulars of LIC
3. LIC board composition
4. LIC Annual Report 2024-25
5. LIC 67th Annual Report 2023-24
6. LIC international operations
7. LIC insurance plans
8. LIC product launch: Jeevan Utsav
9. LIC press releases
10. NSE issue information for LIC IPO
11. LIC Annual Report 2021-22
12. Life Insurance Corporation
13. Oriental Life Insurance Company established
14. Insurance sector liberalisation begins
15. Digital servicing and product diversification accelerated
16. Jeevan Utsav market campaign
17. Accelerate digital transformation through DIVE
18. LIC appoints Sanjay Lohiya as government nominee director
19. LIC announces a bonus equity share issue
20. LIC presents a dividend to the Government of India
21. LIC discloses ongoing litigation involving the corporation