LIC can raise just Rs 200 crore more under Varishta Bima Yojana

 Considering Rs 30 crore budgeted subsidy for the current fiscal, this gives LIC room to collect only Rs 200 crore more under the special pension scheme targeted at senior citizens.

 The scheme promises a return of 9 per cent and since this is not a market-related return, the Centre has assured to make good the shortfall between the promised return and the actual yield on the investment made by this corpus. Assuming that the gap is 2 per cent, Rs 30 crore budgeted subsidy can take care of a pool of Rs 1,500 crore.

 As of August 16, LIC has sold 72,000 Varishta policies, mopping up over Rs 1,300 crore, since its launch by the Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on July 14.

 The issue bears significance in light of the government