India said to likely block Chinese investment in LIC
The Hindu
Govt. views insurer as strategic asset, ‘trust deficit’ weighs
New Delhi wants to block Chinese investors from buying shares in Life Insurance Corp. (LIC) which is due to go public, four senior government officials and a banker told Reuters, underscoring tensions between the two nations.
State-owned LIC is considered a strategic asset, commanding more than 60% of India’s life insurance market with assets of more than $500 billion. While the government is planning to allow foreign investors to participate in what is likely to be the country’s biggest-ever IPO, worth a potential $12.2 billion, it is leery of Chinese ownership, the sources said.
Tensions between the countries rocketed last year after their soldiers clashed on the disputed Himalayan border and since then, India has sought to limit Chinese investment in sensitive companies and sectors, banned a raft of Chinese mobile apps and subjected imports from China to extra scrutiny.
Around 440 MBBS graduates of 2021 are not required to undergo one year of compulsory rural service as per the bond signed by them while joining the medical course through government-quota seats in 2015 as the High Court of Karnataka has said the law, enacted in 2012 for mandatory rural service, remained unenforced for 10 years as it was published in the official gazette only in July 2022.