Half of Modi’s Cabinet has no stock market portfolio. They invest in FDs, land & cattle

Illustration: Soham Sen | ThePrint

New Delhi: At 2,370 days and counting, India’s stock market is setting up for the longest bull run in its history. A bull run is when stock prices are rising and investors are optimistic about the market. But despite the bull run, half of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Cabinet ministers don’t seem to have much faith in the stock market when it comes to their own money. They prefer investing in land, jewellery and fixed deposits instead.

Going by asset declarations made by the Cabinet Ministers for FY2025-26, out of the 30 ministers, 8 invest only in FDs, and 15 invest in the markets, including 5 who also invest in mutual funds.

The ministers with only FDs and not market investments are Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Health Minister J.P. Nadda, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs Manohar Lal, Panchayati Raj Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh, Civil Aviation Minister K.R.M. Naidu, Tribal Affairs Minister Jual Oram, and Textiles Minister Giriraj Singh.

Jaishankar, for instance, has investments totalling Rs 5.59 crore in FDs, and Rs 50 lakh in Indian Railway Finance Corporation (IRFC) bonds. Nadda has declared an FD account in SBI, worth Rs 7.15 lakh, gold rings worth 4.5 lakh, an Innova Crysta car worth 9.61 lakh, and two residential buildings that he built in Bilaspur and Kullu in Himachal Pradesh.

The land for the Bilaspur house is inherited, while that for the Kullu house is gifted, but he mentions that he built the buildings himself by raising a loan and using his personal savings.While not all Cabinet ministers have made detailed disclosures with regard to the companies they are investing in, a few have a very vibrant investment portfolio.

For instance, Union Home Minister Amit Shah has only mentioned investments of Rs 2.23 crore in quoted securities, which are officially listed and traded on a recognised stock exchange, and Rs 3.07 lakh in unquoted securities, which are not listed on any public exchange.

Similarly, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has investments amounting to Rs 9.70 crore in quoted securities and Rs 1.01 lakh in unquoted securities.

On the other hand, Union Minister of Jal Shakti, C.R.Patil, holds shares in several listed and unlisted companies. Among the listed companies, he holds 8,990 shares in Adani Power amounting to Rs 13.48 lakh at the time of the asset declaration, 500 shares in state-owned Gujarat Alkalies and Chemicals Limited (GACL) amounting to Rs 2.84 lakh, 50 shares in the State Bank of India (SBI) amounting to Rs 49,000, and 20 shares in Reliance Industries, amounting to Rs 26,880, among others.

Among unlisted companies, he holds stake in CRP Financial Services Pvt Ltd amounting to Rs 22.72 lakh; and in Shri Sai Ashish Dyeing and Printing Mills Pvt Ltd, amounting to Rs 29.01 lakh; besides 930 sharesin Shri Sai Prakashan Pvt Ltd, amounting to Rs 22.85 lakh, as also in Avnip Silk Mills Pvt Ltd, amounting to Rs 11.79 lakh, among other companies.

Patil also has FDs totalling to Rs 26.17 lakh, and mutual fund investments amounting to Rs 1.09 crore.

Women and Child Development Minister Annapurna Devi also holds a diverse portfolio. She has 540 shares in ONGC, worth Rs 1.33 lakh; 1,500 shares in SBI, worth Rs 15.65 lakh, 24 shares in JIO FIN, worth Rs 5,826; 48 shares in Reliance, worth Rs 63,792, and 27 shares in Reliance Power, worth Rs 661.77. She also has 5 FDs totalling Rs 28.25 lakh.

Additionally, she has investments worth Rs 80.69 lakh in the following SBI funds: SBI Life Smart Privilege LP Series 2, SBI Magnum Equity ESG Exclusionary Strategy Fund, SBI Focused Fund-Regular Plan Growth, SBI MNC Fund-Regular Plan Growth, SBI Focused Equity Fund Regular Growth, SBI Life Smart Privilege LP Plan P-Series 3.

FDs & revolvers

According to the asset declarations, Rajnath Singh also owns a .32 revolver and two pipe guns. Minister of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises H.D. Kumaraswamy has declared 34 cows valued at Rs 6.4 lakh and 273 Bannur sheep valued at Rs 6.14 lakh. Minister of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Jitan Ram Manjhi has also declared 4 cows and 3 calves, valued at Rs 2 lakh.

There are also those Cabinet ministers who don’t have any investments in FDs or markets at all. For instance, Union Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment Virendra Kumar does not seem to have any market investments or FDs at all. He has only declared a flat in Bhopal worth Rs 1 crore, and another property in Vitthal Nagar, Madhya Pradesh, worth Rs 18 lakh.

These are his self-acquired properties, in addition to two ancestral ones. He has also declared jewellery worth Rs 6.08 lakh, a revolver, a 37-year-old scooter, and a mobile phone worth Rs 30,000.

Similarly, in his movable property, Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has declared a Unit Linked Insurance Plan (ULIP), worth Rs 30,000, jewellery worth Rs 15 lakh, advance of Rs 50 lakh to his son, and cash and bank balance totalling Rs 54 lakh. He, too, has not listed any investments in the stock market or FDs. Chouhan also owns self-acquired properties in Vidisha and Budhni in Madhya Pradesh, worth Rs 2.24 crore.

Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Minority Affairs Kiren Rijiju has not declared any investments at all. He only holds two LIC policies, one SBI Smart Elite policy, 24 grams gold worth Rs 3.44 lakh, and 5 properties, 4 of which are either fully or partially inherited, including one which is government allotted.

Manjhi has not declared any self-acquired property, and has mentioned only a parental house in Mahakar village in Bihar. This property is to be divided between him and his deceased brother’s heir. He has declared Rs 23 lakh in his bank accounts, Rs 45,000 in cash, an ambassador car valued at Rs 5,000, a Scorpio SUV valued at Rs 3,60,000, air conditioners worth Rs 45,000, along with 4 cows and 3 calves valued at Rs 2 lakh.

Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Hardeep Singh Puri, has not declared any market investments, but has declared a total of Rs 68.86 lakh in his pension account, PPF account, savings accounts, and senior citizen savings scheme accounts.

He also owns a Toyota Innova Hycross car, a New Delhi apartment purchased for Rs 2.5 crore in January 2005, and a penthouse in Gurugram owned jointly with his daughter. The penthouse was purchased for Rs 4.53 crore in 2007, and was sold for Rs 12.90 crore in August 2025.

(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)