India
oi-Deepika S
New Delhi, Mar 30: Amid assembly elections in four states and a Union territory, the government on Tuesday approved issuance of the 16th tranche of electoral bonds which will be open for sale from April 1 to 10.
Electoral bonds have been pitched as an alternative to cash donations made to political parties as part of efforts to bring transparency in political funding. However, Opposition parties have been raising concerns about alleged opaqueness in funding through such bonds.
The Election Commission of India (ECI) has accorded “no objection” from the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) angle on March 17 with certain conditions, including that no political functionary would make any reference in this regard during any public speech or communication to the press or public in the constituencies going for polls, the finance ministry said in a statement.
“The State Bank…