Finance Minister receives Rs 12,207 crore LIC dividend for FY 2025-26

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman received dividend cheques from LIC, Union Bank of India and New India Assurance for FY 2025-26. The Finance Ministry also highlighted the strong financial performance of public sector banks, including record profits, improved asset quality and historically low NPAs

New Delhi: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday received a dividend cheque of Rs 12,207 crore from the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) for FY 2025-26.

She received a “dividend cheque of Rs 12,207 crore for FY 2025-26 from R. Doraiswamy, MD and CEO, Life Insurance Corporation of India,” according to an X post.

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FM Sitharaman also received a dividend cheque of Rs 2,853 crore for FY2025-26 from Asheesh Pandey, MD and CEO, Union Bank of India and a dividend cheque of Rs 211 crore for FY2025-26 from Girija Subramanian, Chairman-cum-Managing Director, the New India Assurance Co. Ltd.

According to an X post by Finance Minister, Public Sector Banks (PSBs) witnessed a significant improvement in asset quality during FY 2025–26, with Gross Non-Performing Assets (GNPA) declining to a record low of 1.9 per cent and combined net profit reaching an all-time high of Rs 1.98 lakh crore.

The net profit of public sector banks recorded a robust 11.1 per cent increase in FY 2025–26, marking the fourth straight year of profitability as reforms and strengthened governance practices have reinforced healthier balance sheets, enhanced operational resilience, and strong capital adequacy.

Improved asset quality, healthy credit expansion and higher income contributed to improved profitability of PSBs during FY 2025–26, an earlier Finance Ministry statement said.

The aggregate business of public sector banks (PSBs) increased to Rs 283.3 lakh crore as on March 31, 2026, registering a growth of 12.8 per cent over the previous year, it said.

Asset quality of PSBs improved significantly during FY 2025–26, with Gross NPA ratio (Non-Performing Assets) declining to 1.93 per cent and Net NPA ratio to 0.39 per cent as on March 31, 2026, reflecting historically low levels of stressed assets.

Further, each PSB maintained a provisioning coverage ratio of above 90 per cent, indicating prudent provisioning practices, improved underwriting standards, effective risk management mechanisms and strengthened balance sheet resilience, the statement added.