Central Idea

The government has announced a fresh tranche of electoral bond sales for a 10-day period starting through the authorised branches of State Bank of India across the country.

About the Electoral Bond Scheme

Definition	Banking instruments for political party donations with donor anonymity.
Launch	2017-18 Union Budget
Purchase Method	Available to Indian citizens and Indian-incorporated companies from select State Bank of India branches. Can be bought digitally or via cheque.
Donation Process	Purchasers can donate these bonds to eligible political parties of their choice.
Denominations	Available in multiples of ₹1,000, ₹10,000, ₹10 lakh, and ₹1 crore.
KYC Requirements	Purchasers must fulfill existing KYC norms and pay from a bank account.
Lifespan of Bonds	Bonds have a 15-day life to prevent them from becoming a parallel currency.
Identity Disclosure	Donors contributing less than ₹20,000 need not provide identity details like PAN.
Redemption	Electoral Bonds can be encashed only by eligible political parties through an Authorized Bank.
Eligibility of Parties	Only parties meeting specific criteria, including securing at least 1% of votes in the last General Election, can receive Electoral Bonds.
Restrictions Lifted	Foreign and Indian companies can now donate without disclosing contributions as per the Companies Act.
Objective	To enhance transparency in political funding and ensure funds collected by political parties are accounted or clean money.

Challenging the Electoral Bond Scheme