Page 11 - Insurance Times September 2021

ment owned companies under the new IPO by the end of the current fiscal Additional Secretary in the Depart-
Public Sector Enterprise policy where year. ment for Promotion for Industry and
government will mandatorily exit from LIC's IPO is expected to be the biggest Internal Trade (DPIIT) Anil Agrawal
non-strategic sector and be present said it was decided that a portal will
in India with many analysts expecting
only minimally in four strategic sectors. be developed by the Small Industries
a share sale in excess of Rs 1 lakh crore.
However, he added that the private Besides its sheer size, the corporation Development Bank of India (SIDBI) for
sector must come forward to partici- is seen as valuable given its share of funding purposes of startups.
pate in privatisation. new business and high persistency These issues came up in the meeting

"After probably 17 years India needs to among policyholders. of the National Startup Advisory Coun-
see some privatization. It's a message It is part of the government's plan to cil.
to all the stakeholders," he said. raise Rs 1.75 lakh crore from asset Agrawal said several initiatives are
sales in state-run companies in the underway to strengthen the startup
LIC starts working on allot- current fiscal. The government also ecosystem in the country.
ment of IPO plans to privatise two public sector About 16 programmes have been iden-
banks and a state-run insurance com-
The Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) tified for the sector and it was shared
pany as part of its overall privatisation
has started creating a database of with all the members of the council, he
drive to raise resources.
policyholders who would be eligible for told PTI.
the reserved 10 per cent of the allot- To ensure that the LIC IPO takes place Agrawal also said that Manoj Kohli
ment in its IPO. The database is being during the current fiscal, work is in from SoftBank wants to make a na-
created to obviate duplication among progress on multiple fronts.
tional mentorship programme.
policyholders so that each of them is The government has put in place all
given a chance to become a share- the legislative changes and has also "Today chairman LIC was there (in the
holder of India's largest insurance firm, extended LIC chairman M R Kumar's meeting). He committed to set up a
said an official. term by nine months. fund for startups," he said, adding
EPFO too has expressed the willingness
LIC has appointed Milliman as the ac-
Union cabinet approves tuary and EY as the adviser for calcu- for setting up a similar investment fund
for startups.
LIC share sale lating the embedded value of the firm.
Embedded value is a valuation method Further, he said high net-worth indi-
The stage is set for the country's big-
unique to insurance companies that viduals would be on boarded to be-
gest IPO with the Union Cabinet ap-
includes the net present value of future come angel investors as India has only
proving the share sale of the state-run
earnings from policies and is crucial for 6,000 angel investors, while the US has
insurance behemoth Life Insurance
pricing shares. 3 lakh.
Corporation of India (LIC).
LIC is also planning to audit its half- "We are also looking" at how to make
Agency reports said the Cabinet Com-
yearly accounts for the period ended the Startup Champions programme
mittee on Economic Affairs, had
September 2021 for the first time. more effective in its second version so
cleared the IPO of LIC. While no offi-
that the story reaches villages as well,
cial announcement has been made the official said.
about the approval, sources said the LIC, EPFO keen to start
issue was part of the agenda for the funding start-ups "So, these are the initiatives. It has
Cabinet meeting. never happened in the country," he
Life Insurance Corporation of India and
added.
The report said that a panel headed by Employees' Provident Fund
finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman Organisation (EPFO) have expressed Meanwhile, an official statement said
will decide on the exact amount of their willingness to set up funds for Commerce and Industry Minister
stake dilution. Indications are that the startups to help budding entrepre- Piyush Goyal chaired the meeting of
government plans to unveil the mega neurs, a senior official said. the council. T

The Insurance Times, September 2021 11