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The Centre has invited bids for book running lead managers (BRLM), legal adviser, and registrar and share transfer agent (RTA) for the mega initial public offering (IPO) of LIC.

The Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) has also invited bids for an advertising agency.

The bid submission for BRLMs and RTA starts on July 15 and ends on August 5. On the other hand, the bid submission for legal adviser and advertising agency starts on July 15, but ends on August 6.

The development comes after the Cabinet Committee of Economic Affairs (CCEA) earlier this month gave its in-principle approval to the IPO.

A top official source told IANS that said that the CCEA, in its meeting on July 7, approved the reworked plan for the IPO finalised by the DIPAM, clearing the several impediments for the country's largest IPO.

"We have also fixed the way for the offer and how investors should be roped in to the insurer. With this, the road has been cleared for the IPO that in any case we were planning for FY22," the official said.

The highly-placed source further told IANS that now the alternative mechanism (AM) or the Group of Ministers would sit to decide on the timing and quantum of shares to be offered. The appointment of managers for the issue will also follow.

Post the Union Budget FY22, the government has taken several legislative and executive steps to pave way for the mega IPO.

As per the amendments proposed under the Finance Bill 2021, the authorised share capital of LIC shall be Rs 25,000 crore, divided into 2,500 crore shares of Rs 10 each.

Capital market regulator SEBI has also eased the minimum public offer norms in a bid to pave the way for the LIC IPO.

In February, the board of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has decided recommend changes in regulations, and for issuers with post issue market capital exceeding Rs 1 lakh crore, the requirement of minimum public offering (MPO) will be reduced from 10 per cent of post issue market capital to Rs 10,000 crore along with 5 per cent of the incremental amount beyond Rs 1 lakh crore.

The government expects to bring the IPO around Diwali this year.

According to Chief Economic Adviser (CEA) K.V. Subramanian, the LIC IPO may fetch the government around Rs 1 lakh crore.

The tender documents published by DIPAM on Thursday said that the listing of shares of the LIC on stock exchanges would entail part-sale of government's stake in LIC and to raise fresh equity share capital for LIC, through a prospectus based IPO in the domestic market as per SEBI Rules and Regulations.

The Life Insurance Corporation of India, a statutory Corporation constituted under the LIC Act 1956, is a leading life insurer of India wholly owned by the government. It has three branches outside India - in the UK, Fiji and Mauritius, a wholly-owned subsidiary in Singapore and Joint Ventures in Bahrain, Kenya, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Saudi Arabia, and Bangladesh. Its subsidiaries in India include LIC Pension Fund Ltd, and LIC Cards Services Ltd.

Its associates include the IDBI Bank Ltd, the LIC Mutual Fund and the LIC Housing Finance Ltd.