Govt approves 28th tranche of electoral bonds, sale from October 4

The government on Friday approved the issuance of the 28th tranche of electoral bonds that will open for sale for 10 days beginning October 4.

The decision comes ahead of assembly elections in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Mizoram. Poll dates are likely to be announced soon.

Electoral bonds have been pitched as an alternative to cash donations made to political parties as part of efforts to bring transparency to political funding.

"The State Bank of India (SBI), in the XXVIII Phase of sale, has been authorised to issue and encash electoral bonds through its 29 authorised branches (as per list enclosed) w.e.f. October 4-13," the finance ministry said in a statement.

 

The sale of the first batch of electoral bonds happened in March 2018.

The authorised SBI branches include those in Bengaluru, Lucknow, Shimla, Dehradun, Kolkata, Guwahati, Chennai, Patna, New Delhi, Chandigarh, Srinagar, Gandhinagar, Bhopal, Raipur, and Mumbai.

SBI is the only authorised bank to issue electoral bonds.

The finance ministry further said 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 shall be credited on the same day," it added.

Electoral bonds can be purchased by Indian citizens or entities incorporated or established in the country.

Registered political parties that have secured not 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.