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Qwik Supply Chain Private Limited, a little-known company with registered address at Navi Mumbai's Dhirubhai Ambani Knowledge City (DAKC) and having links to Reliance Industries, was the third largest donor to political parties using electoral bonds. It bought Rs 410 crore of electoral bonds between financial years 2021-22 and 2023-24 but Reliance said the company is not a subsidiary of any Reliance entity. Electoral bond purchases and donations by Qwik Supply were behind Rs 1,368 crore of Future Gaming and Hotel Services - another little-known lottery company - and Rs 966 crore of Hyderabad-based Megha Engineering & Infra, according to information uploaded by the Election Commission on its website. Publicly available information describes Qwik Supply as a manufacturer of warehouses and storage units. The unlisted private company was incorporated on November 9, 2000 with an authorised share capital of Rs 130.99 crore. Its paid-up capital is Rs 129.99 crore. The firm had a revenue of over Rs 500 crore in 2022-23 (April 2022 to March 2023) but profit numbers were not known. It bought electoral bonds worth Rs 360 crore in 2021-22 to give away to political parties. In the same year, its net profit was only Rs 21.72 crores. It bought another Rs 50 crore worth of bonds in the financial year 2023-24. The company has three directors and one reported key management personnel. The longest serving director currently on board is Tapas Mitra - who incidentally also sits on the board of 25 other companies - was appointed on November 17, 2014. Mitra is a director of partnership firms such as Reliance Eros Productions LLP and companies like Jamnagar Kandla Pipeline Company Private Limited. Jamnagar Kandla Pipeline is registered in Ahmedabad at an address shared by some other Reliance companies, such as Reliance Paging Private Limited, Jamnagar Ratlam Pipeline Private Limited, Reliance Tankages Private Limited and Reliance Oil and Petroleum Private Limited. Vipul Pranlal Mehta has been a director on the board of Qwik since December 10, 2019. He is also a director of eight other companies including one called Rel Icons and Traders Private Limited. Sridhar Titti is the most recently appointed director, joining the board on November 27, 2023. A Reliance Industries spokesperson in response to a detailed questionnaire, said: "Qwik Supply Chain Pvt Ltd is not a subsidiary of any Reliance entity." Nexg Devices Pvt Ltd, a firm linked to Surender Lunia, purchased Rs 35 crore worth of electoral bonds in May 2019 and November 2022. Another firm linked to him, Infotel Business Solutions bought electoral bonds worth Rs 15 crore in May 2019. He was the one who sold a 29.18 per cent stake in NDTV held by Reliance-linked firms to the Adani Group.

The Election Commission will announce the schedule for General Elections and state assemblies at 3 pm tomorrow, i.e., March 16. Announcement will be livestreamed on social media platforms of the ECI, it said on Friday.With elections slated to take place some time around April-May 2024, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party is looking to come back to power for the third consecutive term, having bagged the majority in 2014 and 2019. Campaigning for the upcoming polls are already underway, with the BJP confidently claiming that the party would clinch over 400 seats in the 543-seats strong Lok Sabha.In 2019, the BJP managed to corner 37.36 per cent of the votes, effectively achieving the highest vote share by any political party in India since the 1989 general election. BJP alone won 303 seats, with the tally going up to 353 seats for the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). Rahul Gandhi-led Indian National Congress secured 52 seats, with the tally inching up to 98 for the party-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA).The Election Commission had announced that nearly 97 crore Indians will be eligible to vote in this year's Lok Sabha elections, reflecting a 6 per cent increase in registered voters since 2019. The electoral rolls were published in all States/UTs across the country in early February after an intensive Special Summary Revision 2024 process.EC has been working over the last few months, preparing for the election process. Meanwhile, systematic checks are being conducted across states towards election readiness. It is estimated that the total number of polling stations will increase from 10.36 lakh in 2019 to 11.8 lakh in 2024. The number of voters is also expected to rise from 90 crore in 2019 to above 95 crore. Both factors will impact security considerations. The phasing of elections will also depend on the same. The 2019 poll was held in seven phases against the nine phases of 2014.Efforts are also underway to explore the feasibility of conducting simultaneous elections across the country. A High-Level Committee chaired by former President Ram Nath Kovind recently submitted recommendations of the panel to Prsident Droupadi Murmu. The 'One Nation One Election' team also held consultations with former Chief Justices Deepak Mishra and SA Bobde.Several states, including Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Sikkim, and Arunachal Pradesh, are preparing to hold simultaneous Lok Sabha and assembly polls in the coming months.

Are good days for public sector stocks nearing an end? It may not be the case for the entire pack but some of the stocks not only saw a double-digit correction but also a reduction in mutual fund holdings. Mutual funds reduced exposure in 14 public sector stocks in February, of which, seven of them witnessed a double-digit correction. Many of these stocks gave multibagger returns through 2023. <iframe title="Which PSU stocks did MF reduce exposure in Feb?" aria-label="Table" id="datawrapper-chart-LgjVA" src="https://et-infographics.indiatimes.com/graphs/LgjVA/1/" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="width: 0; min-width: 100% !important; border: none;" height="608" data-external="1"></iframe><script type="text/javascript">!function(){"use strict";window.addEventListener("message",(function(a){if(void 0!==a.data["datawrapper-height"]){var e=document.querySelectorAll("iframe");for(var t in a.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var r=0;r<e.length;r++)if(e[r].contentWindow===a.source){var i=a.data["datawrapper-height"][t]+"px";e[r].style.height=i}}}))}();</script> Indian Railway Finance CorporationThe number of mutual fund schemes holding the stock reduced to 34 in February from 37 in January. This stock, which gave 184% returns in 2023, has corrected 29% in over a month. From a quarterly point of view too, mutual funds have been consistently reducing their stake in the last five quarters. SJVNThis is another multibagger PSU major where MFs reduced their holdings last month. The number of MF schemes holding the stock came down sharply to 21 in February from 33 in the preceding month. The stock has corrected over 23% since February, but it has given 127% returns in 2023. Between March to December 2023, MFs had steadily increased their holdings in the power producer.NBCC IndiaThe stock that corrected nearly 15% since February, saw MF ownership fall to 21 schemes from 28 schemes in January. This is another PSU stock that gave multibagger returns of 110% in 2023.IRCON InternationalThis is the fourth multibagger PSU stock to see a reduction in MF holding last month. The stock gave a staggering 186% returns in 2023, but has corrected 22% since February. Interestingly MF holding in the company had increased sharply in the December quarter from the September quarter.Goldilocks period over?After the stellar run in 2023, some amount of correction was bound to happen and, therefore, analysts are not perturbed by this downfall in PSU stocks.Kshitiz Mahajan of Complete Circle Wealth believes that there is froth in small and micro-cap segments and specific sectors like defense, railways, and banks within the PSU space.“Investors should exercise caution, considering valuation metrics and expected earnings rather than following a herd mentality,” he said.On the contrary, two PSU sectors that individual investors should probably focus on according to Hemant Sood of Findoc are defence and banking.“These 2 sectors have capabilities to outshine in the coming year with the support of government and initiatives like ‘make in India’ would act as a catalyst in terms of growth and overall expansion,” he said.(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)

Investors in multiple smallcap and penny stocks, in which entities involved in the multi-crore Mahadev Online Book illegal betting application scam held a stake, have lost up to 37% this month. While Dubai-based alleged hawala operator Hari Shankar Tibrewala and related entities owned more than 30 listed stocks, at least 6 of them have been forced to issue public clarifications denying any links to the accused following a crash in share prices.Many of the stocks that are in the portfolios of the accused have given multibagger returns. Gensol Engineering, for example, which has given an eye-popping return of 800% in just 2 years, has lost one-third of its value since March 1."Zenith, a passive shareholder since September 2022, holds less than 1.5% in Gensol and holds neither decision-making rights nor any involvement in the business and operational strategies of the company," Gensol said in a regulatory filing.Tibrewala invested in the Indian stock market through entities such as Zenith Multitrading DMCC, Ability Games, Tano Investment Opportunities Fund, Brilliant Investments, Discovery Buildcon, Forest Vincom, Dreams Achievers Consultancy Services, Caterfield Global DMCC, Ecoteck General Trading, Sawarnbhumi Vanija Private, and Yudiz Solutions.Gensol said any developments related to Zenith will have no impact on our growth trajectory or strategic vision. But the stock ended 5% in lower circuit on Thursday when most smallcaps rebounded. <iframe title="Smallcaps in trouble amid Mahadev scam" aria-label="Table" id="datawrapper-chart-zIb3q" src="https://et-infographics.indiatimes.com/graphs/zIb3q/1/" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="width: 0; min-width: 100% !important; border: none;" height="683" data-external="1"></iframe><script type="text/javascript">!function(){"use strict";window.addEventListener("message",(function(a){if(void 0!==a.data["datawrapper-height"]){var e=document.querySelectorAll("iframe");for(var t in a.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var r=0;r<e.length;r++)if(e[r].contentWindow===a.source){var i=a.data["datawrapper-height"][t]+"px";e[r].style.height=i}}}))}();</script>Similarly, Cellecor Gadgets has fallen 37% this month, Toyam Sports 31% and Sigachi Industries 29%.Hyderabad-based Sigachi also denied any connection whatsoever with Tano Investment Opportunities Fund and Caterfield Global DMCC."The company has no control and access to its shareholders and their business/private transactions. Sigachi reaffirms that its business operations across its five Production facilities, and subsidiaries are unaffected and the scheduled capex plans and commissioning schedules are not impacted," Sigachi said.Also read | Little stocks in big trouble! 374 smallcaps fall at least 30% from peak. Worst ahead?Other companies which have distanced itself from the accused in the case include North Eastern Carrying Corporation, Pritika Auto Industries, Cellecor and Servotech Power.Last week, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) said it has frozen shares worth Rs 1,100 crore held in demat accounts linked to the accused in the case.“...As on 29.02.2024, the Indian companies under control of associates of Hari Shankar Tibrewal held around securities worth Rs 580 crore in stock portfolios. That the foreign entities also invested in India via the FPI route and as on 29.02.2024 they were found to be holding securities worth Rs 606 crore in stock portfolios,” the ED had said in a statement on Friday.Investigators have found that the fugitive promoters of the Mahadev app used a betting website ‘skyexchange’ to divert funds through companies under Chokhani’s directorship to stock portfolios. The ED suspects most of these were small and mid-cap stocks.(Data: Ritesh Presswala)(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of Economic Times)