Electoral Bonds: Sale of 26th tranche to commence today
Apr 03, 2023
New Delhi [India], April 3 : The State Bank of India (SBI) has been authorized to issue Electoral Bonds through its 29 branches starting Monday (today) and the sale will continue till April 12.
Electoral bonds were introduced to "cleanse the system of political funding" in India.
The issuance of sales - the 26th tranche - is happening ahead of Karnataka assembly polls, which take place in a single phase on May 10.
The bonds are available for purchase for a period of 10 days each in the months of January, April, July and October, as may be specified by the central government.
As per provisions, Electoral Bonds may be purchased by a person who is a citizen of India or incorporated or established in India. A person being an individual can buy Electoral Bonds, either singly or jointly with other individuals.
Only the registered political parties which secured not less than one per cent of the votes polled in the last General Election to the House of the People or the Legislative Assembly of the State shall be eligible to receive the Electoral Bonds.
The Electoral Bonds are valid for fifteen calendar days from the issue date, and no payment shall be made to any payee Political Party if the Electoral Bond is deposited after the expiry of the validity period. The Electoral Bond deposited by an eligible Political Party in its account is credited on the same day.
The government notified the Electoral Bond Scheme on January 2, 2018.