Who are the smartest stock market investors among Modi govt ministers?

India’s benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty ended 2020-21 with gains of around 70%, the most in 11 years. India’s market capitalisation climbed over 80% during the year – by Rs 91 trillion to Rs 204 trillion. The stock market performance translated into profits for some of the top cabinet ministers in the government, too, reveal declarations submitted with the Prime Minister’s Office.

Minister of Home Affairs and Cooperation Amit Shah’s net worth grew 32% to almost Rs 38 crore in FY21. This was mainly due to a 74% jump in the value of shares held by him. He declared the total value of his securities at Rs 24.5 crore as of March 31, 2021, compared with Rs 13.5 crore the previous year. His portfolio includes Rs 19.7 crore worth of inherited securities and Rs 3.78 crore worth of purchased securities.

According to the affidavit submitted by Shah to the Election Commission in 2019, his listed equity portfolio consisted of more than 190 stocks. His top holdings include Reliance Industries, L&T Finance, Tata Consultancy Services, UltraTech Cement, Hindustan Unilever, Maruti Suzuki and ITC.

The value of stocks in Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal’s portfolio grew by 96% to Rs 5.33 crore from Rs 2.72 crore in FY20. Among the richest ministers in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Cabinet, Goyal also saw his net worth increasing by Rs 2.8 crore, or 10%, to Rs 30.26 crore.

Meanwhile, the Franklin Templeton Credit Crisis impacted Petroleum Minister Hardeep Puri’s assets. His disclosure shows investments worth Rs 18.6 lakh in Franklin Credit Risk Fund, one of the six schemes voluntarily wound up by the fund house last year. The scheme had marked down the value of its exposure to YES Bank and Vodafone Idea’s debt after creating segregated portfolios.

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, who was inducted into the Union Cabinet in July held three listed stocks – Gujarat State Fertilizers & Chemicals, L&T and Vedanta – which together had a value of Rs 6.23 lakh.

Another new face in the Union Cabinet, Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, has declared mutual fund investments to the tune of about Rs 11 lakh. His MF holdings account for a minuscule portion of his total assets of Rs 35.4 crore.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar have no exposure to the stock market, and they have seen only marginal increase in their net worths.

While the value of Sitharaman’s assets were almost unchanged from Rs 1.4 crore in her FY20 disclosure, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s total assets fell marginally from Rs 5.21 crore to Rs 4.93 crore.

And, finally, the latest declaration made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi shows his net worth as of March 31 at Rs 3.07 crore. This is up by nearly Rs 22 lakh from Rs 2.85 crore last year which is a jump of 7%. PM Modi has no stock market or mutual fund investments. His assets have mainly increased due to receipts from bank fixed deposits.