At present, the institution is busy preparing the investment blueprint for the current year. The institution had in all invested around Rs 22,000 crore during fiscal 1998-99, showing a growth rate of around 25 per cent. However, the institution is targeting a 20 per cent growth in investment during the year in line with the overall growth of the fund size.

While LIC's gross investment in government and government-approved securities was pegged at around Rs 15,000 crore, investment in the corporate sector in debt instruments was above Rs 3,100 crore during 1998-99. The total exposure of the institution for equity shares and units is above Rs 2,150 crore during the year.

Among the infrastructure projects, the power sector has received the largest chunk ofresources amounting to Rs 900 crore during the year.

Investment in socially-oriented sectors like housing was pegged at over Rs 650 crore and water supply & sewerage at Rs 100 crore during the year. Projects where the institution has a fair amount of exposure are power, roads, ports and housing.

Speaking to The Financial Express, LIC managing director YP Gupta said that the institution's fund size is set to increase from Rs 98,000 crore to Rs 120,000 crore during the year. "We are quite consistent in recording an annual growth rate of 20 per cent," he said. According to Gupta, LIC has beefed up its investment department to meet the new challenges in this area.

The steps include setting up a project assessment cell, training around 25 young officers for undertaking investment-related excercises and establishing an equity research and rating centre. The institution has identified pension as one of thrust area of business expansion during the current year. On supporting the Centre's disinvestmentplan, Gupta said that, it will be a commercial decision and the investment committee will take a decision as and when any particular disinvestment programme is announced.

Term-lending institution IDBI is to lead other financial institutions for implementing the principles of corporate governance, he said. LIC has already trained its nominees and will train more nominees in this regard for bringing about an effective management of shareholders' money.

The institution so far has 172 nominees including 82 on the basis of equity exposure, 89 for loan exposure, and one nominee for holding debentures. LIC may record a drop in the rate of return from 12.35 per cent to 12.32 per cent for last year. According to government guidelines, LIC has to invest 75 per cent of its accretion as controlled fund including central and state government securities which include government guaranteed marketable securities and various socially-oriented schemes.

Recently, the Centre had widened the scope of socially-orientedsector to accommodate infrastructure projects pertaining to ports, railways (BOLT projects) roads highways and airports. The Government has also clarified that there is no prohibition for making investments in the private sector in socially-oriented sector, subject to availability of suitable schemes which satisfy the prudential norms.