Needed To Fill Gaps In Internal Systems Of LIC Before IPO, Sitharaman To NDTV Profit

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said they needed to fill gaps in the internal systems of the state-owned life insurer, Life Insurance Corp., before its initial public offering.

The government is also focusing on the valuation of public sector companies, Sitharaman told NDTV Profit's Sanjay Pugalia in an exclusive and first interview with a TV news channel after budget 2024.

"We are focusing on improving all PSEs, thereby improving their valuations," she said.

Public undertakings since 1991 are trying to bring in internal professionalism, but there was not much market orientation, Sitharaman said.

The insurance behemoth went public in May 2022 by selling 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. LIC stood at the ninth place in the ranking of top 10 most valued firms.

LIC also received the Reserve Bank of India's nod for acquiring up to 9.99% stake in HDFC Bank Ltd. on Jan. 26.

The Finance Minister presented the interim budget 2024 on Thursday, in which FY25 gross market borrowings have been pegged at Rs 14.13 lakh crore. This was lower than the number of Rs 15 lakh crore that economists had expected.

For FY25, the fiscal deficit target was pegged at 5.1%, with the aim of reducing it to 4.5% by FY26.