Budget 2022: LIC to go public soon, says Nirmala Sitharaman

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said during the beginning of her Budget speech that public life insurer Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) will go public soon and added that others are also in process for FY23. Sitharaman also talked about the Air India handover to the Tata Group and selection of Neelanchal Ispat Nigam's strategic partner.
 
"Towards implementing new Public Sector Enterprise (PSE) Policy, strategic transfer of Air India has been completed. Strategic partner for Neelanchal Ispat Nigam has been selected, public issue of LIC expected shortly, others in process for 2022-23," Sitharaman said.
 
Sitharaman's comments on the LIC IPO are in tune with the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) Secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey's comments on the same issue last month. "LIC's disinvestment amount will be included in this year's (Budget) because we aim to list it before March 31," Pandey said.
 
The government appointed 10 merchant bankers in September 2021 including Goldman Sachs (India) Securities Pvt Ltd, Citigroup Global Markets India Pvt Ltd and Nomura Financial Advisory and Securities (India) Pvt Ltd, to manage the LIC IPO. Other selected bankers include SBI Capital Market Ltd, JM Financial Ltd, Axis Capital Ltd, BofA Securities, ICICI Securities Pvt Ltd, JP Morgan India Pvt Ltd and Kotak Mahindra Capital Co Ltd. Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas has been appointed as the legal advisor for this IPO.
 
 She also talked about utilising upcoming technologies like fintech coupled with macroeconomic growth focus, microeconomic welfare focus, promotion of digital economy, climate action, energy transition and tech-enabled development to achieve the vision for India@100 announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his Independence Day address.

Sitharaman started her speech by expressing empathy towards those who had to bear the brunt of the COVID-19 pandemic and added, looking forward, that that India's economic growth is estimated to reach 9.2 per cent in the upcoming year. 

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