LIC profit soars 16.36% to Rs. 21,040 Cr in H1 FY26; VNB margin expands to 17.6%
Mumbai: The Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) has announced a robust 16.36% increase in its Profit After Tax (PAT) for the first half of the 2026 fiscal year.
The state-owned insurer reported a PAT of Rs. 21,040 crore for the six months ending September 30, 2025, up from Rs. 18,082 crore during the same period last year.
The strong performance was supported by a 12.30% growth in the Value of New Business (VNB), which reached Rs. 5,111 crore. The company's net VNB margin also expanded by 140 basis points, rising to 17.6% from 16.2% in the previous year.
LIC's total premium income saw a 5.14% rise, reaching Rs. 2,45,680 crore for H1 FY26. Its Assets Under Management (AUM) also grew by 3.31% year-on-year to Rs. 57.23 lakh crore.
A key driver of profitability appears to be the corporation's strategic diversification into non-participating (non-par) products. The Annualized Premium Equivalent (APE) from individual non-par products surged by 30.47% to Rs. 6,234 crore. This shift increased the non-par share within the individual business to 36.31% for the half-year, a significant jump from 26.31% in the previous year.
Despite the strong profit growth, LIC reported a 20.83% decrease in the total number of individual policies sold, which fell to 72.61 lakh from 91.70 lakh in the prior year. The Individual New Business Premium income also saw a 3.54% decline.
However, this was offset by a 6.14% increase in Individual Renewal Premium, which grew to Rs. 1,22,224 crore, and a 6.73% rise in Total Group Business Premium. LIC maintains its position as the market leader with an overall market share of 59.41% based on First Year Premium Income (FYPI).
CEO Outlook and Operational Efficiency
LIC also demonstrated improved operational efficiency, with its overall expense ratio decreasing by 146 basis points to 11.28% for the half-year.
Shri R Doraiswamy, CEO & MD of LIC, attributed the results to the successful implementation of the company's strategy regarding product and channel diversification.
"While we have seen the VNB increase by 12.30% in H1 FY26 to Rs 5,111 crore, our VNB margin has also expanded by 140 bps to 17.6% in H1 FY26," Doraiswamy stated.
He also highlighted growth in alternate sales channels, noting that the "Banca and Alternate Channels share of Individual NBP is now 7.12% for H1 FY26 as compared to 4.10% last year, demonstrating a growth of 67.62%". The CEO expressed optimism about recent GST changes for the industry and reaffirmed LIC's commitment to achieving "Insurance for All by 2047".
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Texas halts H-1B visas at state universities, agencies; to affect Indians
Houston (US) (PTI): Texas Governor Greg Abbott has ordered state agencies and public universities to immediately halt new H-1B visa petitions, tightening hiring rules at taxpayer-funded institutions, a step likely to impact Indian professionals.
The freeze will remain in effect through May 2027.
The directive issued on Tuesday said that the state agencies and public universities must stop filing new petitions unless they receive written approval from the Texas Workforce Commission.
The governor's order, in a red state that is home to thousands of H-1B visa holders, comes as the Trump administration has initiated steps to reshape the visa programme.
“In light of recent reports of abuse in the federal H-1B visa programme, and amid the federal government’s ongoing review of that programme to ensure American jobs are going to American workers, I am directing all state agencies to immediately freeze new H-1B visa petitions as outlined in this letter,” Abbot said.
Institutions must also report on H-1B usage, including numbers, job roles, countries of origin, and visa expiry dates, the letter said.
US President Donald Trump on September 19 last year signed a proclamation ‘Restriction on entry of certain non-immigrant workers’ that restricted the entry into the US of those workers whose H-1B petitions are not accompanied or supplemented by a payment of USD 1,00,000.
The H1-B visa fee of USD 1,00,000 would be applicable only to new applicants, i.e. all new H-1B visa petitions submitted after September 21, including those for the FY2026 lottery.
Indians make up an estimated 71 per cent of all approved H-1B applications in recent years, according to US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), with China in the second spot. The major fields include technology, engineering, medicine, and research.
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is the second-highest beneficiary with 5,505 approved H-1B visas in 2025, after Amazon (10,044 workers on H-1B visas), according to the USCIS. Other top beneficiaries include Microsoft (5,189), Meta (5,123), Apple (4,202), Google (4,181), Deloitte (2,353), Infosys (2,004), Wipro (1,523) and Tech Mahindra Americas (951).
Texas public universities employ hundreds of foreign faculty and researchers, many from India, across engineering, healthcare, and technology fields.
Date from Open Doors -- a comprehensive information resource on international students and scholars studying or teaching at higher education institutions in the US -- for 2022-2023 showed 2,70,000 students from India embarked on graduate and undergraduate degrees in US universities, accounting for 25 per cent of the international student population in the US and 1.5 per cent of the total student population.
Indian students infuse roughly USD 10 billion annually into universities and related businesses across the country through tuition and other expenses – while also creating around 93,000 jobs, according to the Open Doors data.
Analysts warn the freeze could slow recruitment of highly skilled professionals, affecting academic research and innovation.
Supporters say the directive protects local jobs, while critics caution it could weaken Texas’ competitiveness in higher education and research.
The order comes amid broader debate in the US over skilled immigration and state-level interventions in federal programmes.
H-1B visas allow US companies to hire technically-skilled professionals that are not easily available in America. Initially granted for three years, these can be extended for another three years.
In September 2025, Trump had also signed an executive order ‘The Gold Card’, aimed at setting up a new visa pathway for those committed to supporting the United States; with individuals who can pay USD 1 million to the US Treasury, or USD 2 million if a corporation is sponsoring them, to get access to expedited visa treatment and a path to a Green Card.
