The State Bank of India (SBI) has refused to disclose under the Right to Information (RTI) Act the details of the electoral bonds furnished to the Election Commission (EC) of India, claiming that it is personal information held in a fiduciary capacity, even though the records are in the public domain on the poll panel’s … Read more
Congress names Digvijaya Singh from Rajgarh in Madhya Pradesh, Ajay Rai from PM Modi’s Varanasi seat in fourth list The Congress on Saturday announced 45 names in its fourth list of candidates for the Lok Sabha polls while one seat for the Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP) in Rajasthan. Former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Digvijaya Singh … Read more
Data related to electoral bonds made public last week by the Election Commission of India (ECI) has turned the spotlight on not just some of the well known companies in the Telugu-speaking States but also many lesser known entities and individuals. While these presumably low profile firms and individuals may not be as popular as … Read more
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi | Photo Credit: PTI Infosys, Biocon, JSW Steel, Shahi Exports donated to JD(S) via electoral bonds On March 17, the Election Commission of India disclosed new documents listing the corporations and individuals who contributed to the Janata Dal (Secular) party in Karnataka before April 12, 2019, via the electoral bond route. The documents … Read more
At least 43 firms newly incorporated in the year 2018 or later have bought electoral bonds worth over Rs 384.5 crore. Of them, four companies, all established in 2023 in Hyderabad, bought bonds worth crores of rupees, just a few months after getting established. As many as nine firms in 2020 and eleven companies in … Read more
RJD’s Manoj Jha | Photo Credit: PTI Senior RJD leader Manoj Jha on March 15 alleged that the data on electoral bonds proves that the BJP Government at the Centre is “the most corrupt political party in the history” of the country. Mr. Jha, the party’s national spokesperson, also claimed that the data, which is … Read more
A sample electoral bond issued by the State Bank of India. File. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement Electoral Bonds worth over ₹10,700 crore have been purchased between 2018 and October this year in 22 phases of their sale, according to a Right to Information (RTI) reply. The Department of Economic Affairs, which is under the Finance … Read more
Image for representation purpose only. | Photo Credit: Getty Images COP27 | India opposes draft text on agriculture India has opposed the developed world’s efforts to extend the scope of mitigation to agriculture at the ongoing U.N. climate summit in Egypt, saying rich nations do not want to change their lifestyles to reduce emissions and … Read more
A sample electoral bond issued by the State Bank of India. File. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement Electoral bonds worth ₹10,246 crore have been sold by the State Bank of India (SBI) since the instrument was launched in March 2018. Electoral bonds have been pitched as an alternative to cash donations made to political parties … Read more
Weeks ahead of the Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh polls, the Centre on November 7, 2022 amended the Electoral Bond Scheme to grant itself the power to spell out an extra fortnight of electoral bond sales in years when States and Union Territories with a legislature have polls, and used the power to open a fresh … Read more