DIPAM Secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey today said the government was targeting an early March date for the Life Insurance Corporation's initial public offering. Speaking exclusively to CNBC-TV18, Pandey also said Neelachal Spat Nigam Limited will go on sale in a few days.

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Pandey said the LIC IPO was very important and the government's next big task. "We are very sanguine on bringing the LIC IPO this quarter, in early March. We had had extensive consultations with IRDAI (The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India) and SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India) on the LIC IPO," Pandey said.

The DIPAM secretary said the government expects the draft red herring prospectus (DHRP) to be filed soon and that they are close to finalising the embedded value report for the LIC IPO.

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The listing of LIC is poised to be India's biggest IPO to date, with the government looking to raise up to Rs 1 lakh crore by selling shares.

"A lot of back-stop work is on for LIC's IPO," Pandey told CNBC-TV18, adding, "We are doing our best to ensure retail participation for the IPO works out smoothly. We are trying to do our best in the current financial year after facing two waves of the COVID pandemic. Bidders' interest is important for strategic sales."

On Neelachal Ispat Nigam Limited, Pandey said the sale is going to be closed in a matter of days. In December, the government received financial bids for strategic bids for the Odisha-based company that produces iron and steel.

The government is counting on the sale of shares in LIC, which has the lion’s share of the life insurance market in India, to fill the fiscal deficit this year.

(Edited by : Vijay Anand)

First Published:Jan 27, 2022 5:30 PM IST