Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley's personal wealth declined by Rs. 6 crore to Rs. 60.99 crore in the financial year 2016, said data released by the government. It was Rs. 67.01 crore in FY2015. The other ministers are yet to file their financial assets for the year.
Jaitley's financial details included both his movable and immovable assets. The decline in wealth was mainly on account of reduction in his bank balance and number of vehicles owned.
Movable Assets
The minister's liquidity, under three savings accounts at HDFC Bank and another at SBI, were reduced collectively by Rs. 2.52 crore to Rs.1 crore in 2016. Jaitley's cash in hand too fell by Rs. 30 lakh to Rs. 65.29 lakh in the same fiscal. The total value of his four cars – two Mercedes, a Toyota Fortuner and a Honda Accord – in FY2016 was Rs. 1.93 crore; lesser by Rs. 86 lakh worth BMW he owned in 2015.
His movable assets such as loans and advances stood Rs. 20 lakh more at Rs. 9.34 crore in FY2016. He had also given out more advances for properties worth Rs. 75.6 lakh this year (2016).
Jaitley owned gold (5.6 kg), silver (15 kg) and diamonds, which were worth Rs. 1.35 crore, Rs. 5.54 lakh and Rs. 45 lakh, respectively. The quantity and their values have more or less remained the same since 2015.
The minister held Rs. 9 crore and Rs. 8 crore as company deposits in Empro Oils and DCM Shriram, respectively, same as that declared in 2015. His public provident fund amount was Rs. 3 lakh more at Rs. 25.69 lakh in 2016.
Immovable Assets
Jaitley's immovable assets, like his residential and commercial properties, had the same market valuation in both assessment years. He owned six residential properties (jointly with his wife) in Delhi, Gurgaon, Amritsar and Gandhinagar, apart from land in Haryana, and commercial properties across cities.
