SBI Discloses Sale of Electoral Bonds Worth ₹15,000 Crore Since 2018 in RTI Reply

The State Bank of India (SBI), the sole authorized bank for issuing and encashing electoral bonds, has disclosed that a staggering ₹15,956.3096 crore worth of electoral bonds have been sold since the introduction of the Electoral Bond Scheme in 2018. In response to a Right to Information (RTI) request by transparency activist Commodore Lokesh Batra (retd), the SBI shared critical details, stating that 55.9% of the printed electoral bonds, totaling 27,133 bonds, have been sold across 29 tranches.

The RTI response further revealed that out of the total bonds sold, 194 bonds valued at ₹23.8874 crore were left unencashed, leading to their transfer to the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund (PMNRF). In the latest 29th tranche, all 1,109 issued bonds between November 6 and November 20 were successfully encashed.

The figures highlight the significant financial impact of the Electoral Bond Scheme on political funding, serving as a crucial mechanism for channeling contributions to political parties. Since its initiation in 2018, a substantial 674,250 electoral bonds, amounting to ₹28,531.5 crore, have been printed by the India Security Press, Nashik, between 2019 and 2022.

The PMNRF, the beneficiary of unencashed bonds, has collected a cumulative ₹2,065.69 crore between April 2017 and March 2022, as reported on the official website. These financial transactions underscore the intricate relationship between electoral funding and public welfare initiatives, shedding light on the broader implications of political finance on governance.

It is noteworthy that the State Bank of India, while being the exclusive bank authorized for issuing and encashing electoral bonds, does not undertake the printing of these bonds. Instead, its authorized branches acquire the bonds from the Government of India in different calendar years.

The disclosure raises discussions around transparency in political financing, as activists and citizens scrutinize the impact of the Electoral Bond Scheme on democratic processes. The scheme, intended to streamline political contributions, has been a subject of debate, with concerns raised about the anonymity of donors and its implications on electoral integrity.

As electoral finance continues to evolve, the data provided through RTI queries becomes pivotal in understanding the dynamics of political funding and the role of financial institutions in shaping the electoral landscape. The revelation prompts a closer examination of the intersection between political contributions, banking institutions, and the broader democratic framework in India.