Page 11 - Electoral Bond

Govt allows sale of electoral bonds through 29 SBI branches from Dec 5-12

The Government on Saturday authorised sale and encashment of electoral bonds through 29 branches of State Bank of India (SBI) across the country between December 5 and December 12, 2022

Electoral bonds worth Rs 10,246 crore sold by SBI in 21 tranches

Electoral bonds worth Rs 10,246 crore have been sold by the State Bank of India (SBI) since the instrument was launched in March 2018. Electoral bonds have been pitched as an alternative to cash donations made to political parties as part of efforts to bring transparency to political funding. In an RTI reply, SBI said the majority of these bonds were of one crore while less than 10 per cent of subscriptions were of lower denominations -- ten lakh, one lakh, ten thousand and one thousand. About 93.5 per cent of total bonds sold were in the denomination of Rs 1 crore, according to an RTI filed by Chandra Shekhar Gaur. Only 0.25 per cent in value terms were from one lakh, ten thousand and one thousand denominations. SBI has been authorised to issue and encash electoral bonds through 29 authorised branches. The authorised SBI branches include those in Lucknow, Shimla, Dehradun, Kolkata, Guwahati, Chennai, Patna, New Delhi, Chandigarh, Srinagar, Gandhinagar, Bhopal, Raipur, and Mumbai.

Ahead of assembly polls, 23rd tranche of electoral bonds opens for sale

Ahead of assembly elections in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh, the 23rd tranche of electoral bonds opened for sale on Wednesday. The bond sale will close on November 15. The Gujarat assembly elections will be held in two phases on December 1 and 5, while Himachal Pradesh will go to polls on November 12. Electoral bonds have been pitched as an alternative to cash donations made to political parties as part of efforts to bring transparency in political funding. State Bank of India (SBI), in the 23rd phase of sale, has been authorised to issue and encash electoral bonds through 29 authorised branches from November 9-15, the finance ministry had said in a statement earlier this week. Usually, electoral bond tranches are open for sale between 1-10 of a designated month. For instance, the 22nd tranche of bond sales took place from October 1-10, 2022 while 21st tranche was from July 1-10, 2022. Sale of the first batch of electoral bonds happened from March 1-10, 2018. The authorised SBI

Govt clears 23rd tranche of electoral bonds; open for sale on Wednesday

Ahead of assembly elections in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh, the government on Monday approved issuance of the 23rd tranche of electoral bonds that will open for sale on November 9. The Gujarat assembly elections will be held in two phases on December 1 and 5, while Himachal Pradesh will go to polls on November 12. Electoral bonds have been pitched as an alternative to cash donations made to political parties as part of efforts to bring transparency in political funding. State Bank of India (SBI), in the 23rd phase of sale, has been authorised to issue and encash electoral bonds through 29 authorised branches from November 9-15, the finance ministry said in a statement. Usually, electoral bond tranches are open for sale between 1-10 of a designated month. For instance, the 22nd tranche of bond sales took place from October 1-10, 2022 while 21st tranche was from July 1-10, 2022. Sale of the first batch of electoral bonds happened from March 1-10, 2018. The authorised SBI branches

95% donations through electoral bonds going to BJP, says Ashok Gehlot

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Saturday claimed that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is getting 95 per cent of the total donations made through electoral bonds as donors are not providing funds to other parties out of fear. Addressing a press conference here as part of the Congress's campaign for the upcoming Gujarat Assembly polls, the senior party leader accused the BJP of even "threatening" corporates, who wish to donate to Congress and other political parties. He also targeted the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and its chief Arvind Kejriwal, saying they spend money for suppressing any negative news against them. "If donation is given to other parties, the Enforcement Directorate and Income Tax Department will come knocking on the doors of the donors. In our democracy, even donations are going to one party only. They have amassed crores of rupees, which they use to build five-star party offices across the country," Gehlot alleged. "Following the introduction of electoral bonds

Electoral Bond scheme 'biggest scam' of free India: Raj CM Ashok Gehlot

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Monday called electoral bonds the "biggest scam" in the history of independent India. His remark came days after the centre told the Supreme Court that the electoral bonds scheme was an absolutely transparent mode of political funding. Gehlot said that electoral bonds have been devised by the NDA government in such a way that not only it allows easy funnelling of money, but also ensures that no one can be blamed for it. He said that the Supreme Court should not delay judgement on the matter and should hold regular hearings. The CM also raised questions on the Election Commission of India's decision to hold Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat assembly elections on different dates, saying such a move was not possible without indication from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah. The NDA government has come up with such a method that no one can be blamed. In the Supreme Court they (GoI) say that they have done the right thing

Electoral bond is a transparent mode of political funding: Centre to SC

The Centre on Friday told the Supreme Court that the electoral bonds scheme is an absolutely transparent mode of political funding

Supreme Court to hear pleas challenging electoral bond scheme on Friday

The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on Friday a batch of pleas challenging laws permitting funding of political parties through the electoral bond scheme. Electoral bonds have been pitched as an alternative to cash donations made to political parties as part of efforts to bring transparency in political funding. A bench of Justices B R Gavai and B V Nagarathna is likely to take up the PILs by NGO, Association for Democratic Reforms, Communist Party of India (Marxist) and other petitioners. Advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the NGO, on April 5 had mentioned the matter before the then CJI N V Ramana saying the issue was critical and needed an urgent hearing. The top court had agreed to list the NGO's plea for hearing but it did not come up before any court. Earlier, Bhushan had sought an urgent listing of the PIL from the apex court on October 4 last year seeking a direction to the Centre not to open any further window for sale of electoral bonds during the pendency of a c

Government approves 22nd tranche of electoral bonds; sale from October 1-10

Ahead of assembly elections in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh, the government on Thursday approved issuance of 22nd tranche of electoral bonds that will open for sale on October 1. Electoral bonds have been pitched as an alternative to cash donations made to political parties as part of efforts to bring transparency in political funding. State Bank of India (SBI), in the 22nd phase of sale, has been authorised to issue and encash electoral bonds through its 29 authorised branches from October 1-10, the finance ministry said in a statement. The authorised SBI branches include those in Lucknow, Shimla, Dehradun, Kolkata, Guwahati, Chennai, Patna, New Delhi, Chandigarh, Srinagar, Gandhinagar, Bhopal, Raipur, and Mumbai. Assembly election dates for Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh are likely to be announced in few weeks. The 21st tranche of bond sales took place from July 1-10, 2022. Sale of the first batch of electoral bonds happened from March 1-10, 2018. SBI is the only authorised bank

Govt approves sale of electoral bonds from July 1-10: What you need to know

The government on Wednesday approved issuance of the 21st tranche of electoral bonds that will open for sale from July 1. Electoral bonds have been pitched as an alternative to cash donations made to political parties as part of efforts to bring transparency in political funding. State Bank of India (SBI), in the 21st phase of sale, has been authorised to issue and encash electoral bonds through its 29 authorised branches with effect from July 1 to July 10, the finance ministry said in a statement. The authorised SBI branches include those in Lucknow, Shimla, Dehradun Kolkata, Guwahati, Chennai, Patna, New Delhi, Chandigarh, Srinagar, Gandhinagar, Bhopal, Raipur, and Mumbai. Assembly elections are due in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh later this year. Polls for five states -- Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Goa -- concluded in March this year. The 20th tranche of bond sales took place from April 1 to April 10, 2022. The sale of the first batch of electoral b

Provide total cost of printing electoral bonds: CIC to India Security Press

Commodore Lokesh Batra (retd) had filed an RTI with the ISP to provide details of total cost of printing the electoral bonds introduced by the government to ensure transparency in political donations

The wrong reform

Electoral bonds do not address corruption in political funding

How to hit the job creators

IFB Agro charged it was 'singled out by certain excise officials for not succumbing to their illegal demands'

Supreme Court agrees to examine plea against electoral bond scheme soon

The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to hear a plea against the laws allowing political parties' funding through the electoral bond scheme

Sale of 20th tranche of electoral bonds to begin on April 1

SBI is the only authorised bank to issue such bonds

Political parties redeemed Rs 1,212-cr electoral bonds ahead of state polls

Political parties encashed electoral bonds worth Rs 1,212 crore in the run-up to the recent round of elections in five states, taking the total of such bonds redeemed to Rs 9,187 crore since 2018

Eligible entities have purchased bonds worth over Rs 9,200 cr: Govt

The Electoral Bond Scheme 2018, was notified by the government on January 2, 2018

Govt approves 19th tranche of electoral bonds; sale opens on Jan 1

Ahead of assembly elections in five states, the government on Thursday approved the issuance of the 19th tranche of electoral bonds, which will be open for sale from January 1 to 10. Electoral bonds have been pitched as an alternative to cash donations made to political parties as part of efforts to bring transparency in political funding. However, Opposition parties have been raising concerns about alleged opaqueness in funding through such bonds. "State Bank of India (SBI), in the XIX Phase of sale, has been authorised to issue and encash Electoral Bonds through its 29 Authorized Branches with effect from January 1 to January 10, 2022," the finance ministry said in a statement. The 29 specified SBI branches are in cities, such as Lucknow, Shimla, Dehradun Kolkata, Guwahati, Chennai, Thiruvananthapuram, Patna, New Delhi, Chandigarh, Srinagar, Gandhinagar, Bhopal, Raipur, and Mumbai. Assembly elections for 5 states-- Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Goa-- ar

Electoral bonds to be sold at authorised branches of State Bank of India

The Electoral Bonds will be valid for fifteen calendar days from the date of issue

Electoral bonds: CIC dismisses appeal seeking disclosure of reports by SBI

Central Information Commission dismissed an appeal seeking disclosure of reports submitted by State Bank of India to the Centre and Reserve Bank of India