Ahead of assembly elections in five states such as Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Goa, the government has approved the issuance of the 19th tranche of electoral bonds, which will be open for sale from January 1 to 10, 2022.
- In the 19th tranche of sale, the State Bank of India (SBI), has been authorised to issue and encash electoral bonds through its 29 specialised branches. Click here to know all the 29 specialised bank branches.
Note – SBI is the only authorised bank to issue electoral bonds.
Key Points:
i.What are Electoral Bonds?
These are the alternative financial instruments that could be used for making donations to political parties, it was formed as part of efforts to bring transparency in political funding.These bonds will be issued in multiples of Rs 1,000, Rs 10,000, Rs 100,000 , 10,00,000 and Rs 1 crore (the range of a bond is between Rs 1,000 to Rs 1 crore).
ii.Who can buy it?
- Electoral Bonds can be purchased by a person who is a citizen of India or entities incorporated or established in India.
- Any party registered under section 29A of the Representation of the Peoples Act, 1951 and has secured at least 1 percent of the votes polled in recent General/Assembly elections (i.e. election of Lok Sabha or legislative assembly) are eligible to receive electoral bonds.
iii.Limit: There is no limit on the number of bonds an individual or company can purchase.
iv.Validity: An electoral bond will be valid for 15 days. The bonds donated to political parties must be encashed within 15 days through the party’s verified account, failing which SBI will deposit the amount into Prime Minister’s Relief Fund.
v.The Electoral bond deposited by any eligible political party into its account would be credited on the same day.
vii.Electoral Bond Scheme:
- It was introduced with the Finance Bill (2017) and notified in 2018 as the ‘Electoral Bond Scheme 2018’.
- At first, the electoral bonds sale took place from March 1-10, 2018. The last 18th tranche of the bond sale took place from September 1 to 10, 2021.
The number of seats allocated:
| State | No. of Seats Allocated in the Assembly election |
|---|---|
| Uttar Pradesh | 403 |
| Uttarakhand | 70 |
| Punjab | 117 |
| Himachal Pradesh | 68 |
| Goa | 40 |
Recent Related News:
On March 26, 2021, A Supreme Court bench led by Chief Justice of India Sharad A. Bobde refused to stay the sale of a new set of electoral bonds, the new set of electoral bonds are scheduled to come out for sale between April 1-10, 2021.
About Election Commission of India (ECI):
Head Office – New Delhi, Delhi
Chief Election Commissioner – Sushil Chandra
Election Commissioner – Anup Chandra Pandey, Rajiv Kumar
