Electoral Bonds To Go On Sale From January 1, 2022. What Are Electoral Bonds And How Can A Donor Purchase Them?

Electoral Bonds: As the assembly elections of five states are about to go underway, the Ministry of Finance announced that the State Bank of India has been given the authority to sell the electoral bonds through 29 of its branches.

Edited By: Raghav Aggarwal

Published: January 1, 2022, 9:44 AM IST

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https://www.india.com/business/electoral-bonds-to-go-on-sale-from-january-1-2022-what-are-electoral-bonds-and-how-can-a-donor-purchase-them-5165483/ Copy

New Delhi: The government, on Friday, approved the sale of the 19th tranche of electoral bonds from January 1, 2021, to January 10. As the assembly elections of five states are about to go underway, the Ministry of Finance announced that the State Bank of India has been given the authority to sell the electoral bonds through 29 of its branches. These branches will include Shimla, Dehradun, Srinagar, Gandhinagar, Chennai, Patna, New Delhi, Mumbai and Chandigarh, according to media reports.

“Only the political parties registered under Section 29A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 (43 of 1951) and which secured not less than 1 per cent of the votes polled in the last general elections to the House of the People or the Legislative Assembly of the state, shall be eligible to receive the electoral bonds,” the Finance Ministry statement said. India will see the elections of five states, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Goa, in the upcoming months. The dates are expected to be announced sometime next month.

What Are Electoral Bonds? How To Purchase Them?

• Electoral Bonds are a way of making donations to political parties.
• The bonds do not have a maximum limit and are issued in the multiples of Rs 1,000, Rs 10,000, Rs 1 lakh and 1 crore.
• The bonds were first issued in 2018.
• The State Bank Of India is the only authorised bank for issuing these bonds.
• These bonds are valid for 15 days, for encashment, from the date of issuance.
• How To Purchase: The donors can purchase the bond from the designated bank branches and give it to the political party of their choice.
• The bonds can be bought singly or jointly by the donor.
• They were started as an alternative to cash donations.
• The name of the donor is not mentioned on the bond and the bonds can be redeemed via the designated account of a registered political party.
• Controversy: However, the concerns around the anonymity of the donor remain. Because the government is always in a position to get the details of the donor through SBI.