My name is bond, electoral bond

Rs 5K cr – Worth of electoral bonds issued till May 4

10,494 – Number of electoral bonds issued by the State Bank of India (SBI) in nine phases so far

Rs 48 L – The average worth of a bond, according to SBI reply to an RTI response

Rs 5,029 cr – Value of electoral bonds issued by SBI till May 4, 2019

10,388 – Bonds withdrawn/redeemed till phase-9 (of 10,494 issued)

Rs 5,011 cr – The value of withdrawn/redeemed bonds

ELIGIBILITY – Parties registered under Section 29A of Representation of People Act, 1951 (43 of 1951) and secured not less than 1% of votes polled in last general/Assembly election can receive bonds

WHO CAN BUY? – The bonds may be purchased by a person who is a citizen of India “or incorporated or established in India”. 

AUTHORISED BANK – SBI is the only commercial bank which has been authorised by the Centre to issue electoral bonds ever since it was envisaged last year. 

THE DONORS – Bank, however, did not disclose the names of companies or individuals giving donations to political parties citing it to be “third party” information which is exempted under Section 8(1)(E)(i) of the RTI Act 

15 DAYS – The time period allowed for eligible political party to redeem the bonds

LEGALITY – The Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), a voluntary group working in the field of electoral reforms, has demanded a stay on the sale of electoral bonds while the CPI(M) has challenged it before the Supreme Court in separate petitions.

— SBI in response to Mumbai-based 

RTI activist Manoranjan Roy / PTI