19TH TRANCHE OF ELECTORAL BONDS APPROVED
Highlights
- Sale of electoral bonds will be open from January 1 to 10, 2022.
- State Bank of India (SBI) has been authorised to issue and encash the bonds through its 29 Authorized Branches.
- Assembly elections are scheduled for 5 states namely, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, and Goa.
What is Electoral Bond?
- Electoral Bond is a financial instrument, used to make donations to political parties. These bonds are issued in multiples of 1000, 10000, 1 lakh, 10 lakh and 1 crore rupees, without any maximum limit.
- SBI is the only authorized bank to issue these bonds. From the date of issuance, the bonds are valid for fifteen days.
- They can be redeemed in designated account of a registered political party. Donor’s name is not mentioned on it.
Who can purchase the bonds?
- Any person, who is a citizen of India or is established in India, can purchase these bonds, for a period of ten days each in the months of January, April, July and October. Person can buy bonds wither singly or jointly with other individuals.
Sale of bonds
- Sale of first batch of electoral bonds took place from March 1-10, 2018. The 18th tranche of bond sale took place in between September 1-10, 2021.
Which parties can take the donation?
- Parties registered under Representation of the People Act 1951 are entitled to receive donations through electoral bonds. Furthermore, these parties should not have secured less than 1% of the votes polled in last held elections.