Electoral bonds: Second tranche on sale from 2 April; to be issued at 11 SBI branches

The sale of the second tranche of electoral bonds will take place from 2 April to 10 April, at 11 designated State Bank of India (SBI) branches, the finance ministry said earlier this week. Electoral bonds are being pitched as an alternative to cash donations made to political parties and are aimed at bring transparency to political funding. Bonds worth Rs 222 crore were issued by the SBI during the first tranche that ended on 10 March. “SBI, in the second phase of sale, has been authorised to issue and encash electoral bonds through its 11 authorised branches with effect from April 2-10, 2018,” the ministry said in a statement. The 11 specified branches are located in New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Gandhinagar, Chandigarh, Bangalore, Bhopal, Jaipur, Lucknow and Guwahati. In the first-phase, electoral bonds were issued at SBI branches in New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai. The government notified the Electoral Bond Scheme on 2 January. As per its provisions, a person who is a citizen of India or an entity incorporated/established in India can purchase electoral bonds. Registered political parties which have secured not less than one per cent of the votes polled in the last election of 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 being an individual can buy electoral bonds, either singly or jointly, with other individuals. An electoral bond will be valid for 15 days from the date of issue. No payment would be made to any payee political party if the bond is deposited after expiry of the validity period. The bond deposited by any eligible political party into its account would be credited on the same day.