11th tranche of electoral bonds sale to kick off from July 1

The Finance Ministry Thursday announced launch of the 11th tranche of electoral bonds sale from July 1-10.

Electoral bonds are being 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 XI phase of sale, has been authorised to issue and encash electoral bonds through its 29 authorised branches with effect from July 1 to 10," the ministry said in a statement.

The 29 specified SBI branches are in cities like New Delhi, Gandhinagar, Chandigarh, Bengaluru, Bhopal, Mumbai, Jaipur, Lucknow, Chennai, Kolkata and Guwahati.

This is the first issuance of electoral bonds after the conclusion of general elections and formation of the new government.

 

The sale of first batch of electoral bonds took place from March 1-10, 2018. The second phase was launched from April 2-10. The third phase took place during May 1-10, fourth tranche was launched from July 2-11 and fifth was between October 1 and October 10.

Sixth phase was November 1-10, seventh phase was January 1-10 and eighth phase March 1-15, ninth phase April 1-20 and tenth was between May 6 and May 15.

The electoral bonds will be valid for 15 calendar days from the date of issue and no payment will be made to any payee political party if the bond is deposited after expiry of the validity period.

The electoral bond deposited by an eligible political party in its account will be credited on the same day.

As per provisions of the scheme, electoral bonds may be purchased by a person, who is a citizen of India or entities incorporated or established in India.

Registered political parties that have secured not less than 1 per cent of the votes polled in the last election of the Lok Sabha or legislative assembly will be eligible to receive electoral bonds.

The SBI is the only authorised bank to issue such bonds. A person can buy electoral bonds, either single or jointly, with other individuals.