Government approves 29th tranche of electoral bonds

Ahead of forthcoming assembly elections in five states, the government has given green light for the release of the 29th tranche of electoral bonds, scheduled to be available for purchase from November 6.

This decision coincides with the active campaigning for the assembly elections in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Telangana, and Mizoram. With the elections spanning from November 7 to 30, the vote count is set for December 3.

Electoral bonds have been positioned as an alternative to cash contributions to political parties, aiming to enhance transparency in political funding.

"The Government of India has authorized the State Bank of India (SBI) in the XXIX Phase of sale, to issue and encash Electoral Bonds through its 29 Authorized Branches from November 6 to 20, 2023," the finance ministry stated in a release.

The inaugural sale of electoral bonds took place in March 2018.

Notably, electoral bonds are encashed exclusively by eligible political parties through a bank account with the authorized bank, with SBI being the sole authorized bank to issue these bonds.

The authorized SBI branches where these bonds will be available include Bengaluru, Lucknow, Shimla, Dehradun, Kolkata, Guwahati, Chennai, Patna, New Delhi, Chandigarh, Srinagar, Gandhinagar, Bhopal, Raipur, and Mumbai.

The finance ministry elaborated that electoral bonds hold a validity of 15 calendar days from the date of issue, stressing that no payments will be made to any political party if the bond is deposited after the expiry of this validity period.

Furthermore, it was noted that the electoral bond deposited by an eligible political party in its account will be credited on the same day.

Electoral bonds are accessible for purchase by Indian citizens or entities incorporated or established within the country.

Registered political parties that have garnered no less than 1 per cent of the votes polled in the last Lok Sabha or legislative assembly elections are eligible to receive funding through electoral bonds, the statement highlighted.