The Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) is an Indian state-owned insurance group and investment company headquartered in Mumbai. It is the largest life insurance company in India with an estimated asset value of ₹1,560,482 crore (US$240 billion). The Life Insurance Corporation of India was founded in 1956 when the Parliament of India passed the Life Insurance Corporation Act on 19 June 1956. The company commenced operations on 1 September 1956 with 205 offices staff in 54 offices located in 32 states. As on 31 March 2015, LIC had 2,048 branch offices, 8 zonal offices, 113 divisional offices, 35 development offices and a central office located in Mumbai.