According to a Right to Information (RTI) response by SBI, approximately 65 percent of all electoral bonds sold since the scheme’s inception in 2018, until the most recent phase for which data is available (October 1-10, 2022), were sold at the Mumbai, Kolkata, and Hyderabad branches of State Bank of India — but 62 percent of total bonds encashed during this period were at the New Delhi branch, reports state.
The RTI response states that the electoral bonds worth Rs 10,791.47 crore have been sold at 17 SBI branches since the first tranche was sold in March 2018, despite the fact that 29 SBI branches are authorised to sell them.
The Union Finance Ministry recently amended the electoral bond scheme, which began in March 2018, to allow sales for a longer period in a year. According to the November 7 amendment, in addition to the usual four 10-day windows, the government can notify an additional 15 days of sales in any year with Assembly elections. This year’s 23rd tranche of bonds…