New Delhi, Jul 13, 2025: Billionaire Anil Agarwal’s Vedanta Ltd has significantly ramped up its political donations, contributing ₹97 crore to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in FY25 — nearly four times the ₹26 crore donated in the previous year, as per the company’s latest annual report.
Listed under “Miscellaneous Expenses”, Vedanta reported total political donations of ₹157 crore for the year ended March 2025, up from ₹97 crore in FY24. Donations to the BJP led the list, while funding to the Congress dropped sharply to ₹10 crore from ₹49 crore.
Break-up of FY25 donations:
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BJP: ₹97 crore (₹26 crore in FY24)
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Biju Janata Dal: ₹25 crore (₹15 crore)
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Jharkhand Mukti Morcha: ₹20 crore (₹5 crore)
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Congress: ₹10 crore (₹49 crore)
Vedanta remains one of India’s top corporate donors. Between 2017 and 2022, it had contributed ₹457 crore to political parties via now-defunct electoral bonds. The Supreme Court had scrapped the bond scheme in 2024, calling it “unconstitutional.”
The company has also used the Janhit Electoral Trust, one of several corporate-funded electoral trusts in India. Others include trusts backed by Tatas, Reliance, Bharti, MP Birla, KK Birla, Bajaj, and Mahindra.
₹2,397 Cr Paid in Brand & Strategic Fees
The report further revealed that Vedanta paid ₹2,397 crore in FY25 towards brand licensing and strategic services to its London-based parent, Vedanta Resources Ltd (VRL), via its subsidiary VRIL. This marked an increase from ₹2,326 crore in FY24.
The brand licence agreement, allowing use of the “Vedanta” name, involves a fee between 0.75% and 3% of the turnover of Vedanta Ltd and some of its subsidiaries.
Key brand-related expenses in FY25:
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Hindustan Zinc Ltd: Paid a sublicensing fee of 1.70% of its annual consolidated turnover.
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Ferro Alloy Corporation Ltd (FACOR): Paid 2.50% of its annual consolidated turnover.
Combined, these sublicensing agreements led to an additional recorded expense of ₹582 crore in FY25, up from ₹477 crore a year earlier.
Vedanta Resources currently holds a 56.38% stake in Mumbai-listed Vedanta Ltd.
