In a disclosure of assets and liabilities in 2023 to Prime Ninister's office, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman unveiled her assets holdings, shedding light on her investment choices. Her assets have been of interest to people lately as she said in a recent media event that she is not contesting in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections because she did not have the funds needed to fight the Lok Sabha polls. As readers keen on personal finance, understanding how the country's finance minister diversifies her portfolio and the returns she gets on it may be of interest to you. In the March 2023 declaration, Sitharaman’s total assets were valued at Rs 2.53 crore. with immovable property amounting to Rs 1.87 crore and Rs 65.55 lakh movable property. However, notably, she also carried liabilities amounting to Rs 26.91 lakh.
Where Has FM Sitharaman Invested?
Mutual Funds: Apart from a Bajaj Chetak scooter, and her Rs 7,350 in cash holding, Sitharaman diversified much of her investments by allocating over Rs 5.80 lakh to mutual funds. If she is following a systematic investment plan (SIP) further funds might have gone into MFs by now, and this figure may have grown over the last two years owing to the plenty of MFs that have been returning lately.
PPF Account: Notably, in her 2016 declaration, she did not have a Public Provident Fund (PPF) account. However, by 2022, she has amassed Rs 1.16 lakh in her PPF account. Currently, the PPF interest rate is 7.1 per cent per annum, compounded yearly for the April-June 2024 quarter.
Gold & Siver: In 2016, Sitharaman declared ownership of 315 grams of gold, which was worth over Rs 7.87 lakh at that time. If the gold volume was kept unchanged, it is notable that in the 2022 declaration, its value has nearly doubled to Rs 14.49 lakh probably due to rising gold prices. Depending on whether it’s 22-carat or 24-carat gold, the same amount of gold would now be worth over Rs 19.4 lakh. If we take only the last year, gold has boasted an impressive 11.71 per cent return.
Silver: Her silver investment rose from 2 kg to 5.282 kg between 2016 and 2022. She paid around Rs 2.60 lakh for the additional 3.282 kg of silver, according to the latest declaration resulting in a total silver holding worth Rs 3.98 lakh.
Real Estate: Sitharaman’s main asset is a residential building near Hyderabad, Telangana, jointly owned with her husband. Its valuation almost doubled from Rs 99.36 lakh in 2016 to Rs 1.7 crore in 2022.
Non-Agricultural Land: She also possesses a plot of non-agricultural land, estimated at Rs 17.08 lakh, a modest rise from Rs 16.02 lakh in 2016.
Liability: Her largest liability is a 10-year mortgage loan, which stood at Rs 19.05 lakh in 2016 and dipped to Rs 18.93 lakh in the 2023 declaration. All loans she has are joint loans with a 50 per cent share.
Where Does PM Modi Hold His Investments?
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s latest asset declarations at the same time reveal assets of approximately Rs 2.58 crore as of March 31, 2023. Modi had National Savings Certificates worth Rs 9.19 lakh. The National Savings Certificate (NSC) interest rate was 7.7 per cent for the January 1 to March 31, 2024, period. He had life insurance policies worth over Rs 1 lakh earlier, and tax-saving Infra bonds worth around Rs 20,000 but they must have matured as it was not in his 2023 declaration. His main asset is a fixed deposit account worth Rs 2.47 crore and the rest were mostly jewellery.
Further, Home Minister Amit Shah has assets totalling Rs 42.98 crore as of the 2023 declaration, with Rs 27.71 core invested in equities.
