A year after the listing of state-owned giant Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), investors find themselves saddled with a sub-par performer. This poor stock market showing occurs despite the fact that LIC has a dominant market share and the biggest network of offices and agents. What’s the problem? The lead edit points out that it is losing ground to rivals in terms of premiums collected and its yields on assets under management are well below the yields that other life insurers get. Its perception as the bailout institution of last resort for the government’s investment programme will also act as a drag on valuations. That’s a reputation the life insurance giant urgently needs to shed to keep up with its more aggressive rivals, the edit adds. Read it here
In other views:
Naushad Forbes explains why Indian industry and India’s largest firms need to get much more serious about R&D. Read it here
Amit Kapoor and Bibek Debroy argue that beyond concrete and steel structure, the current emphasis on urbanisation should include cultural elements in urban policies to ensure sustainability. Read it here
The second edit describes how Europe is moving towards setting standards for AI that could act as benchmarks for legislation elsewhere. Read it here
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Ashwini Vaishnaw, Union minister of communications to Business Standard
