Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Indian electoral bonds: Bank told to disclose all details

The further details of the controversial funding mechanism are expected to make public information linking donors to political parties over the last five years

Indian electoral bonds: Bank told to disclose all details

India's Supreme Court ordered the State Bank of India (SBI) on Monday to submit all the details of electoral bonds issued under an opaque political funding system, just a month before general elections.

SBI was the sole bank authorised to sell and redeem electoral bonds that was introduced in 2017 but subsequently scrapped.


The further details of the controversial funding mechanism are expected to make public information linking donors to political parties over the last five years, and the size of their donations.

Corporate funding of political parties is a sensitive matter in India, where the February scrapping of electoral bonds, along with the publicising of the names of donors and recipients, has become a hot topic ahead of elections due to begin from April 19.

The Supreme Court gave the state-run lender until Thursday to provide the Election Commission of India with the unique identification numbers of the bonds, so as to allow donors to be matched with recipients.

"You have to disclose all details ... we must have finality to it," Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud said.

The election commission, in its turn, was directed to make the information public "forthwith".

Last week, the commission made public some data on donations made since April 2019 under the funding mechanism that allowed anonymous unlimited donations by companies and individuals using the electoral bonds.

Some of India's biggest companies, such as Vedanta Ltd, Bharti Airtel, RPSG Group and Essel Mining were among the top political funders over the last five years, the data showed.

However, it is some of the lesser-known entities that have topped the list among corporate buyers. They include Future Gaming and Hotel Services (Rs 13.5 billion), Megha Engineering (Rs 9.6 billion), and Qwik Supply Chain Pvt Ltd (Rs 4.1 billion).

But last week's data did not link donors to recipients, though it showed that nearly half of all donations were received by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who will seek a rare third term at the polls.

The BJP received Rs 69.86 billion, followed by West Bengal's ruling party Trinamool Congress (Rs 13.97 billion), Congress (Rs 13.34 billion) and Bharat Rashtra Samithi (Rs 13.22 billion), according to the latest data shared by the Election Commission.

Critics say such bonds helped companies hide their donations to avoid any accusations of winning favours from the ruling party.

On Sunday, the leader of the main opposition Congress party, Rahul Gandhi, accused Modi's government of using electoral bonds to extort money from companies, an accusation the government has strongly denied.

Industry bodies Assocham, the Confederation of Indian Industry and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry sought to stop the court from making public information about who donated to which party.

"Protection of anonymity is critical for preserving donors' privacy and guarding against any adversity by any opposing political factions to whom the investment is not made by a corporate," Assocham said. The court did not hear their plea. (Agencies)

More For You

ve-day-getty

VE Day 80 street parties, picnics and community get togethers are being encouraged to take place across the country as part of the Great British Food Festival. (Photo: Getty Images)

Public invited to attend VE Day 80 procession and flypast

THE 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe (VE) Day will be marked with a military procession in London on May 5.

The event will include over 1,300 members of the Armed Forces, youth groups, and uniformed services marching from Parliament Square to Buckingham Palace.

Keep ReadingShow less
Knife crimes

Knife-enabled crimes include cases where a blade or sharp instrument was used to injure or threaten, including where the weapon was not actually seen.

Getty Images/iStockphoto

Knife crime in London accounts for a third of national total: ONS

KNIFE-RELATED crime in London made up almost a third of all such offences recorded in England and Wales in 2024, with the Metropolitan Police logging 16,789 incidents, according to figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on Thursday.

This amounts to one offence every 30 minutes in the capital and represents 31 per cent of the 54,587 knife-enabled crimes reported across England and Wales last year. The total number marks a two per cent rise from 53,413 offences in 2023.

Keep ReadingShow less
Starmer and Modi

Starmer and Modi shake hands during a bilateral meeting in the sidelines of the G20 summit at the Museum of Modern Art in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Brazil, on November 18, 2024.

Getty Images

Starmer calls Modi over Kashmir attack; expresses condolences

PRIME MINISER Keir Starmer spoke to Indian prime minister Narendra Modi on Friday morning following the deadly attack in Kashmir’s Pahalgam region that killed 26 people on Tuesday.

According to a readout from 10 Downing Street, Starmer said he was horrified by the devastating terrorist attack and expressed deep condolences on behalf of the British people to those affected, their loved ones, and the people of India. The two leaders agreed to stay in touch.

Keep ReadingShow less
 Post Office Horizon

A Post Office van parked outside the venue for the Post Office Horizon IT inquiry at Aldwych House on January 11, 2024 in London, England. (Photo: Getty Images)

Getty Images

Post Office spent £600m to keep Horizon despite plans to replace it: Report

THE POST OFFICE has spent more than £600 million of public funds to continue using the Horizon IT system, according to a news report.

Despite deciding over a decade ago to move away from the software, the original 1999 contract with Fujitsu prevented the Post Office from doing so, as it did not own the core software code, a BBC investigation shows.

Keep ReadingShow less
Pahalgam attack: Prayer meet held at Indian mission in London

The prayer meet was led by Indian High Commissioner to the UK Vikram Doraiswami

Pahalgam attack: Prayer meet held at Indian mission in London

Mahesh Liloriya

A PRAYER meet was held at the Gandhi Hall in the High Commission of India in London on Thursday (24) to pay respects to the victims of the Pahalgam terrorist attack.

Chants of ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ rang out at the event which was led by Indian High Commissioner to the UK Vikram Doraiswami.

Keep ReadingShow less