Arun Jaitley's wealth declines Rs 6 crore in a year

New Delhi, July 2: The value of Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley's wealth declined Rs 6.02 crore (8.9 per cent) to Rs 60.99 crore in last fiscal 2015-16 from Rs 67.01 crore in the previous fiscal 2014-15, according to official data.

"Jaitley's personal assets, including movable and immovable were Rs 60.99 crore in 2015-16 as against Rs 67.01 crore in 2014-15," data posted at the Prime Minister of India website said.

Only assets and liabilities of Jaitley, considered to be among the wealthiest in the Union Cabinet, have been put in the public domain for fiscal 2016 so far.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's declared assets, however, increased by Rs 15 lakh to Rs 1.41 crore in fiscal 2014-15 from Rs 1.26 crore in fiscal 2013-14.

Modi's assets include his Gandhinagar property, valued at Rs 1 crore.

Though the Finance Minister's properties, residential and commercial, were pegged at same market valuation for both fiscal (FY 16 & FY 15), the decline is in his bank balance, cash in hand and less number of vehicles owned by him.

"Jaitley's bank balance in four savings accounts (three in HDFC Bank and one in State Bank of India) reduced to Rs 1 crore in FY 2016, from Rs 3.52 crore in FY 2015," the data revealed.

In both fiscal years under review, the Finance Minister held company deposits worth Rs 9 crore in Empro Oils and Rs 8 crore in DCM Shriram Consolidated.

As per the record, Jaitley made no other investments though he had invested Rs 2 crore in fiscal 2013-14.

"Jaitley had Rs 65.29 lakh cash in FY 2016 as against Rs 95.30 lakh in FY 2015. His Public Provident Fund (PPF) has gone up to Rs 25.69 lakh in last fiscal from Rs 22.18 lakh in FY 2015," data said.

The Finance Minister's movable assets are valued at Rs 9.34 crore in FY 2016 as against Rs 9.10 crore in FY 2015.

Jaitley has given unspecified advance for properties valued at Rs 75.6 lakh in FY 2016 as against Rs 75 lakh in FY 2015.

The minister owns four vehicles -- two Mercedes, one Honda Accord and Toyota Fortuner, with a combined value of Rs 1.93 crore in FY 2016 as against five vehicles, including a BMW priced at Rs 86 lakh in FY 2015.

The value of 5.6kg of gold Jailey owns is pegged at Rs 1.35 core in FY 2016 as against Rs 1.25 core for the same quantity in FY 2015.

The value of 15kg silver is valued at Rs 5.54 lakh in FY 2016 as against Rs 5.67 lakh in FY 2015, while the value of his diamonds has been Rs 45 lakh for the past three fiscal years.

The Finance Minister owns six residential properties jointly with his wife, in Delhi, Gurgaon in Haryana, and Amritsar in Punjab and Gandhinagar in Gujarat. He also has land and commercial properties across cities, the data added.

IANS