Enthused by the success of Varishtha Pension Bima Yojana, the Life Insurance Corporation will come up with more welfare schemes soon.

However, the return on its future schemes will be low.

"We will come up with more social schemes depending on the needs of the masses," LIC Chairman S B Mathur said.

While stressing on the social objectives of the LIC, he said the insurer would reduce the return on most of its schemes to make it more realistic and phase out guaranteed schemes.

LIC has over 86 schemes for various sections of the population and professions.

One of the main group insurance products -- the Janashree Bima Yojana -- launched in 2000 offers insurance cover to people living below poverty line for a premium of Rs 100 per annum. The government subsidises them with a matching Rs 100 per person from the Social Security Fund.

The move to launch more social schemes comes after the huge success of the Varishtha Pension Bima Yojana, launched by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on July 14.

LIC has already mopped up about Rs 1,100 crore (Rs 11 billion) from the scheme which offers a guaranteed return of 9.0 per cent and a monthly pension of Rs 250-2,000 to individuals above 55 years of age. "We are targeting Rs 2,000 crore (Rs 20 billion) from this scheme this fiscal," Mathur said.

"We are strengthening our future financial position. We will not launch any new guaranteed scheme. If at all we launch such scheme, it will have a low return and for a maximum five years," he said.

Even with the social objective, the insurance monolith targets 20 per cent growth in premium income at over Rs 11,600 crore (Rs 116 billion) this fiscal, Mathur said.