The government on Thursday announced the fifth phase of the Electoral Bond Scheme in which the bonds will be available at notified branches of the State Bank of India between October 1 and 10.
The electoral bonds would be valid for 15 days from the date of issue and no payment would be made to any payee political party if the bond is deposited after expiry of the validity period, the Finance Ministry said in a statement.
The government notified the Electoral Bond Scheme on January 2. As per the scheme, these may be purchased by a person "who is a citizen of India or incorporated or established in India", either singly or jointly with other individuals.
Only the political parties registered under Section 29A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 and which secured not less than one per cent of the votes polled in the last general election to Parliament or the legislative Assembly of the state are eligible to receive the Electoral Bonds.
--IANS
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