Archive · 6 Aug 2026

LIC OFS: 69% retail subscription in government's biggest disinvestment offer

LIC OFS: 69% retail subscription in government's biggest disinvestment offer

LIC is a very big life insurance company in India, and the government owns a lot of it.

A few years ago, the government sold some of its shares to people for the first time, which is called an IPO.

Now, the government is selling more shares, but this time it is giving buyers a discount.

Selling shares from a big owner is called an Offer for Sale, or OFS.

Regular people, called retail investors, could buy shares at a lower price of Rs 373.10.

Not as many people bought shares as the government hoped — only about 69 out of every 100 reserved shares were bought by retail investors.

The government is doing this to raise money — nearly Rs 31,400 crore if everything is sold.

Some experts say the discount is nice but not a super-cheap deal, and it is better for people who plan to hold the shares for a long time.

The share price has gone down more than 7% this year, so it is also a bit risky.

Sources