New Delhi: The finance ministry on Monday, February 13, said the Life Insurance Corporation has invested Rs 35,917 crore, as of December 31, 2022, in the Adani Group, and its total exposure to the group companies is 0.975% of its total assets under management (AUM).The ministry added that five other public sector general insurance companies have invested Rs 347.64 crore – which is 0.14% of their total AUM – in the group, as on January 31, 2023. These insurers are: New India Assurance Company Limited, United India Insurance Company Limited, National Insurance Company Limited, Oriental Insurance Company Limited and General Insurance Corporation of India.Congress MP Manish Tewari asked the government to provide information on the state-owned insurers’ exposure to the Adani companies in the Lok Sabha.He also asked if loans and investments to the Adani companies by public financial institutions and public sector banks have increased over the last eight years, from July 1, 2014 to February 1, 2023.However, the government cited the Reserve Bank of India Act to say that it prohibits disclosure of banks’ credit information.After Hindenburg Research alleged that Adani Group was involved in stock manipulation and accounting fraud, which led to a crash in the firm’s stock prices and market value, several questions have been raised by the opposition over the government’s investments in the group firms.The Union government has refused to accept the Opposition’s demand seeking a joint parliamentary committee probe into the allegations against the group. It has also shied away from a discussion on how public investments in LIC, public sector banks, and financials institutions have been impacted due to the crash in the group’s stock prices after the report was released on January 24.The minister of state for finance, Bhagwat Karad, responded to Tewari’s questions in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.Also read: Hindenburg Spotlights an Offshore Adani-Related Entity That ED Had Linked to Agustawestland ScamRBI says banks, NBFCs cannot reveal credit informationKarad said that the central bank, under provisions of Section 45E of the RBI Act, 1934, prohibits from disclosing credit information.According to Section 45E of the Act, a bank’s credit information shall be treated as confidential and shall not be published or disclosed.The minister further said that Section 45NB of the Act provides that any information submitted by a non-banking financial company shall be treated as confidential and shall not be published or disclosed.He added that other financial institutions – such as Exim Bank, Small Industries Development Bank of India, National Housing Bank, National Bank for Financing Infrastructure, National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development – are bound by the provisions of the concerned Acts, and are also prohibited from divulging any information relating to the affairs of their constituents.Earlier, Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman had said that the exposure of state-owned general insurance companies to the Adani Group stands at 0.14% of their total AUM.SBI’s exposure to the Adani GroupState Bank of India chairman Dinesh Khara, at a press conference held earlier this month, had said that the bank’s exposure to the Adani Group was pegged at Rs 27,000 crore, or 0.8 to 0.9% of its loan book.“We have lent to Adani for projects which have tangible assets and have adequate cash collections. They are able to meet obligations. It is only 0.8-0.9% of our loan book,” he had said, in the wake of concerns about the impact of the fall in the group’s share valuation on the bank’s balance sheet.Meanwhile, as per reports, the group is learnt to have prepaid loans against shares worth more than $1.1 billion in order to boost investor confidence in its companies, It is also planning to pay off $500 million loans ahead of schedule amid refinancing concerns.