The rise in India's infrastructure spending has led firms in sectors like cement, mining, capital goods, and infrastructure to become significant political donors.
In the cement sector, Rashmi Cement made a notable contribution of Rs 63.5 crore, while industry leader UltraTech Cement donated Rs 35 crore in two installments. Rashmi Group, based in West Bengal, operates with a capacity of one million tonnes per annum.
In the mining and metals industry, Vedanta Ltd, promoted by Anil Agarwal, and subsidiaries or related entities of the Aditya Birla Group also featured among the top 10 donors. However, queries sent to these conglomerates remained unanswered at the time of reporting.
Megha Engineering and Infrastructure emerged as the second-largest donor, contributing Rs 966 crore. The Hyderabad-based company is associated with prominent projects such as the Zojila Tunnel and the Char Dham Tunnel, with a strong revenue estimated at Rs 35,000 crore for the current financial year.
KEC International and entities of the Welspun group were also listed as donors. IRB Infrastructure Developers purchased bonds worth Rs 84 crore through its subsidiaries between 2019 and 2023.
While infrastructure companies involved in significant projects featured prominently on the donor list, the contributions from those bidding for and executing these projects were relatively smaller.
Several engineering and capital goods firms involved in metro rail and other infrastructure projects were also among the donors. Notably, Navayuga Engineering Company, based in Hyderabad and known for building the Silkyara tunnel in Uttarakhand, purchased electoral bonds worth Rs 55 crore between 2019 and 2022.
