Data recap: Electoral bonds, Tata’s plan, Murthy’s gift (2024)

Bond donations

A new set of data on electoral bonds released by the Election Commission on 17 March showed that Santiago Martin, known as the "Lottery King," donated ₹509 crore to Tamil Nadu's ruling DMK through electoral bonds between October 2020 and April 2023. The latest disclosure is based on declarations made by political parties in November last year regarding bonds redeemed since the scheme's inception in early 2018 until September 2023. Based on two datasets, Bharatiya Janata Party’s cumulative donations received through electoral bonds were ₹8,251.8 crore.

Cheaper cars

The government's surprise move introduced a new EV policy, slashing import duties on electric cars to 15% just before the Model Code of Conduct came into effect. The new policy slashes the import duty on electric cars in India that cost over $35,000 ( ₹29 lakh) from the current 70-110% to 15% for five years but the move comes with a number of caveats. The reduced tariff is limited to 8,000 cars annually, contingent upon companies investing ₹4,150 crore, or $500 million, in setting up a factory within three years.

Grandpa’s gift

₹240 crore: That's the value of shares of Infosys, given by the company's co-founder NR Narayana Murthy to his four-month-old grandson Ekagrah Rohan Murthy. The gift potentially makes Ekagrah the country's youngest millionaire. According to an exchange filing, Ekagrah now possesses 1,500,000 shares, representing a 0.04% stake in India’s second-largest information technology company. Ekagrah Rohan Murthy is the third grandchild for the Murthy family, which also has two grand-daughters born to their daughter Akshata Murty, wife of Britain’s prime minister Rishi Sunak.

Mixed report

India's corporate reforms have seen both successes and failures. While some reforms have been transformative, others have not met their intended goals, a Mint analysis showed. Among those was the corporate tax cuts announced by the Modi government in 2019, which does not seem to have unleashed the animal spirits of India Inc yet. Despite a growing cash pile, the growth in net fixed assets – a proxy for capital investments – of the top 500 firms (excluding BFSI firms) has been anaemic of late.

Credit concerns

The Reserve Bank of India has intensified its scrutiny of the credit card industry. Most recently, it directed Federal Bank and South Indian Bank to halt the issuance of new co-branded credit cards. Amid concerns over the increasing number of frauds, the central bank cracked down on digital lending and took action against entities that were lax on KYC norms, including stern measures against Paytm. According to the National Crime Records Bureau, cases of both online and card-related fraud have jumped in recent years.

Proposed deals

₹9,362.3 crore: That's the amount Tata Sons Pvt Ltd plans to raise through block deals, by selling up to 23.4 million shares, or 0.65%, stake in Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), a Mint report said. At a floor price of ₹4,001 a share, the block deal follows ₹17,000 crore buyback in November. Tata Sons holds around 72.4% stake in TCS and the proposal comes at a time when the conglomerate is entering new-age businesses like semiconductors, e-commerce, and phone assembly.

Games galore

Sports sponsorships increased 11% year-on-year to ₹15,766 crore in 2023, according to a report by GroupM ESP, a division of GroupM India. The expenditure includes ground, team, and franchise fees, athlete endorsem*nts, and media spending. Cricket dominated with ₹13.7 trillion, comprising 87% of total spending. While sponsorships and endorsem*nts increased 24% each, sports ad spending declined 1%. However, with the transition from TV to digital, digital ad revenues, accounted for 40% of overall ad spending.

Chart of the week: Women voters

With 543 parliamentary constituencies gearing up to vote from April 19, the voter turnout, particularly amid the scorching heat, will be closely watched. Over the years, the turnout of women voters has increased, nearly matching the participation of male voters in 2019.

Follow our data stories on the “In Charts" and “Plain Facts" pages on the Mint website.

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Published: 22 Mar 2024, 06:30 AM IST