** India's largest insurer Life Insurance Corporation of India LIFI.NS posts ~32% jump on profit after tax, 5.5% rise in net premium income; margins up as product mix improves

** Co anticipates strong insurance demand in the second half of fiscal year

** Shares trading flat on the day

MINIMAL GST IMPACT; COMPETITIVE CHALLENGES REMAIN

** Bernstein ("Market-Perform" TP: 1,070 rupees) does not expect any large impact after management flagged minimal margin impact from GST cuts as it thinks volume growth and cost controls will offset impact

** Emkay ("Add", TP: 1,100 rupees) hikes annualized premium equivalent and value of new business margin estimates by ~2% and ~50bps, respectively, to account for Q2 developments

** New estimates imply ~5% increase in VNB over FY26-28

** Ambit Capital ("Sell", TP: 850 rupees) says LIFI's push towards non-par products faces challenges due to fewer competitive offerings and rising competition from private insurers in smaller cities

(Reporting by Urvi Dugar in Bengaluru)

((UrviManoj.Dugar@thomsonreuters.com;))