From scooter to cows: Here's what Narendra Modi's ministers own

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman owns a Bajaj Chetak, Minister of State for Home Nityananda Rai has 16 cows, 13 buffaloes and 6,293 trees, Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Puri's spouse owns a flat in Switzerland while Home Minister Amit Shah's assets saw a dip owing to equities owned by him taking a hit due to market fluctuations.

These and many other interesting information form part of the latest asset declarations submitted to the Prime Minister's Office, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi who recorded a modest rise of Rs 36 lakh to Rs 2.85 crore.

According to the declaration, Modi's net worth rose from Rs 2.49 crore to Rs 2.85 crore as of June 30, primarily due to bank deposits of Rs 3.30 lakh bank deposits and returns on investments worth Rs 33 lakh. Besides owing four gold rings weighing 45 grams worth Rs 1.51 lakh, Modi had Rs 31,450 in cash, National Savings Certificates worth Rs 8,43,124, life insurance policies worth Rs 1,50,957 and tax-saving Infra bonds worth Rs 20,000.

The moveable assets declared were a little over Rs 1.75 crore. However, he had no loans or vehicles against his name.

Shah's assets dipped from Rs 32.30 crore to Rs 28.63 crore, as the equities held by him dropped from Rs 17.9 crore to Rs 13.5 crore as of March 31 this year. His spouse Sonal's assets also decreased from Rs nine crore to Rs 8.53 crore.

The Home Minister's liabilities were recorded at Rs 15.77 lakh while his assets include properties worth Rs 7.85 crore inherited from his mother. The Shah couple together owns jewellery worth Rs 1.21 crore.

Sitharaman owns assets worth Rs 1.33 crore, which includes 315 grams of gold and two kg of silver worth Rs 10.25 lakh and two properties in Telangana worth Rs 1.15 crore. She also has in possession a Bajaj Chetak scooter valued at Rs 28,200 among her assets while her liabilities include a 19-year home loan, a one-year overdraft, and a 10-year mortgage loan.

While Minister of State for Home G Kishan Reddy still owns a 1995-model Maruti 800 which is part of his Rs 3.61 crore assets, his colleague in the Ministry, Rai has a net worth of Rs 11.91 crore, which includes four vehicles, five TVs, and a rifle.

He has also declared 6,293 trees, including Mahogany, Sheesham, and mango trees, worth Rs 2.94 crore, 16 cows, and 12 calves worth Rs 9.86 lakh, and 13 buffaloes and its eight calves valued at Rs 9.08 crore.

Diplomat-turned-politician Puri had an account in USB, Geneva, which was closed in 2018 while his spouse Lakshmi, a former UN Assistant Secretary-General, maintains accounts in three foreign banks.

The couple owns an apartment in Geneva, acquired on a mortgage of Swiss Francs 10 lakh from USB Bank. "Swiss Francs 1,15,000 has already been paid off towards the principal amount. Now, an amount of Swiss Francs 21,000 is being paid by her (Lakshmi) annually to the Bank towards interest on the balance of loan amount of Swiss Francs 8,85,000," Puri's declaration said.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has six accounts in foreign banks, which has a balance of Rs 2.11 crore in foreign currency as of March 31 this year.

Railways Minister Piyush Goyal is among the richest ministers in Modi's cabinet declaring assets worth Rs 78.27 crore along with his wife. Goyal has assets worth Rs 27.47 crore, including cars worth Rs 83.04 lakh and furniture and fixtures worth Rs 73.20 lakh, while his spouse Seema has recorded Rs 50.34 crore worth assets.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh's assets remain the same at Rs 4.94 crore and have no exposure to the stock market, insurance, or pension policies. He owns a revolver and two pipe-guns but has not invested in stock or pension and insurance policies.

Minorities Minister Mukthar Abbas Naqvi owns a shop in east Delhi's Mayur Vihar, which he bought in 2000 while his Cabinet colleague Arjun Munda owns a revolver and three vehicles. Naqvi also has a Rs 42.70 lakh investment in Public Provident Fund and his wife too owns three shops.