Siddhivinayak Temple trust opens Demat account; shares, securities now acceptable
Mumbai's famous Shree Siddhivinayak Temple would now start accepting donations in shares and securities. Shree Siddhivinayak Ganapati Temple Trust has announced that a Demat account has been opened through SBICAP Securities, a wholly-owned SBI Capital Markets subsidiary. The Demat account enables lakhs of devotees to offer shares directly to the temple's account; the electronic platform would initially accept shares of only listed companies.
World's richest God now accepts shares and securities
Tirupati Balaji started accepting donations in shares and securities. It is the first temple in India to do so. The temple trust - Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams - opened a Demat account in Balaji's name to allow devotees to donate shares as it was difficult to transfer physical stock certificates on His name. Reportedly, Balaji became the world's first deity to have a Demat account.
Devotees interested in donating shares
Central Depositories Service MD & CEO, PS Reddy, stated: "TTD has been receiving physical share certificates as donations by devotees in its open Hundi, which indicates that devotees are interested in donating shares. Enabling devotees to use the Demat account for donations helps both."
Other Indian shrines that accept shares and securities
After Tirupati Balaji had opened a Demat account to accept shares and securities, several shrines in India followed suit. Some such religious places are Vaishno Devi Temple, Church of South India, Nathdwara Shrinathji Temple in Rajasthan, Babulnath Mandir in Mumbai, Shankaracharya Temple, Vardhman Mahavir Temple, and Swaminarayan Temple. However, private companies do not allow religious trusts to be shareholders for a long period.
Over 50 religious places are stockholders
More than 50 trusts of temples, masjids, churches and other religious places have become shareholders of listed entities in India. In the last few months, the number of such trusts accepting shares, apart from cash and gold, has gone up.
Details of eligible shares and securities would be available soon
CDSL India stated: "Shree Siddhivinayak Ganapati Temple Trust (Prabhadevi) Mumbai has opened a CDSL Demat account with SBICAP Securities Limited to accept donations in the form of shares and securities. Details of eligible shares and securities shall be displayed very soon on the Trust's website."
Other financial instruments to be allowed soon
Siddhivinayak Trust Chairman Narendra Murari Rane and SBICAP Securities Managing Director Mani Palvesan addressed a press conference at the temple. The trust would soon allow other financial instruments like bonds, mutual funds, and gold exchange traded funds. Several shrines face problem in utilizing physical share certificates offered by devotees. Siddhivinayak temple receives nearly Rs.75 crore every year in cash and kind.
Trust wouldn't hold shares but sell them the same day
Narendra Rane said: "We want to send the message that we accept shares as well. This will lead to more donations for the trust, which can be used for social causes." The trust would sell the received shares the same day or the next.
Religious places in the world
Apart from places of worship in India, many religious places in the world accept donations in the form of securities and stocks. Another latest trend to make donations is through mobile apps. For instance, Muslim Association of Canada and MasjidPay allow devotees to donate money to all registered masjids. Several apps like Givelify are available, which allow making donations to churches around the world.
