 "Siddhivinayak temple, Gold")
God has been benevolent on the Indian stock markets, with the indices rallying nearly 22 per cent over the past five months. If you have been a smart investor, chances are you have made some serious money.
Well, it may be time now to donate from the gains in the form of listed securities. And, since the Almighty has also moved with the time, you can now do that in a demat form as well.
On Tuesday, Shree Siddhivinayak Ganapati Temple Trust that manages Mumbai’s Siddhivinayak temple opened a Central Depository Services account with SBICAP Securities that will accept demat shares of listed entities as donation from devotees.
“The account has been opened to accept stocks and shares from devotees i.e., from the retail investors. We only have two such accounts with us, Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams and now Shree Siddhivinayak Ganapati Temple Trust,” Yogesh Kundnani, vice-president for business development at Central Depository Services (India), or CDSL, said.
Narendra Murari Rane, the chairman of the trust, said at a press conference on Tuesday that this would lead to more donations for the trust, which could be used for social causes. He added that the temple trust would not hold the shares but sell them the same day or the next day, irrespective of market conditions.
Last year, Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams, too, had opened a CDSL demat account to accept donations in the form of shares and securities; the temple is reportedly receiving encouraging response from devotees.
“There are investors who make money in the market and end up with multibaggers over a period of time. Those who have a religious bent of mind do tend to donate a portion of the gains made from the investment in the form of cash and gold to the religious deity they follow,” said G Chokkalingam, founder & managing director, Equinomics Research & Advisory.
According to the latest data available on the temple’s website, Shree Siddhivinayak Ganapati Temple Trust had received donations in kind totalling around Rs 1.49 crore (according to valuation) as on March 31, 2015, of which gold articles amounted to Rs 1.19 crore; silver articles amounted to Rs 29.41 lakh and donation from moveable items amounted to Rs 62,000 during 2014-15.
Some other trusts have also reportedly joined in, including those in charge of Mumbai’s Babulnath Mandir, Shrinathji Temple in Rajasthan’s Nathdwara and Swaminarayan Hindu Temple to open demat accounts.
“We also approached other famous temples in India for such accounts, like the one in Shirdi. It may happen soon,” Kundnani added.
Who knows, the Lord may just help you choose yet another multibagger for your devotion.
