LIC plans to step up purchases

Indias leading investor follows the old dictum: buy when others sell. Life Insurance Corporation LIC,with an investment corpus of Rs 12,00,000 crore,has invested over Rs 50,000 crore in the capital market during the last fiscal,which is over Rs 5,000 crore more than what it invested in 2010-11.

The higher investment in markets is despite a fall in mobilisation through Ulip products. Besides,there has been a decline in new premium collection in the last fiscal, LICs current-in-charge chairman DK Mehrotra said.

Sensex declined 2,041 points in 2011-12,making it one of the top global losers. The market also witnessed a dry spell with a decline in IPOs. Indian institutions absorbed most of the sales effected by FIIs in 2011.

We are planning to invest over Rs 60,000 crore in the capital market this year. Our overall investment8230; is expected to be over Rs 225,000 crore in 2012-13, Mehrotra said.