About 82 per cent of the total income from unknown sources declared by national political parties in 2022-23 came from electoral bonds, according to a poll rights body.
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The Election Commission (EC) had, in 2019, flagged its concerns in the Supreme Court on the changes made in several laws relating to political funding to facilitate the electoral bonds scheme, saying it will have 'serious repercussions' on transparency.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday defended the electoral bonds scheme, struck down as unconstitutional by the Supreme Court, saying it had a laudable objective of bringing transparency in poll funding.
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Not ordering disclosure of details of electoral bonds prior to April 12, 2019, was a "conscious choice" by the Constitution bench, the Supreme Court said on Monday while refusing to entertain the submissions of ASSOCHAM and CII against the disclosure of bond details on the ground of their plea not being listed.
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The State Bank of India has not shared details of the electoral bonds encashed by political parties till Wednesday, the deadline set by the Supreme Court.
The Congress on Friday alleged that the electoral bonds data has exposed 'corrupt tactics' of the Bharatiya Janata Party such as quid pro quo, seeking donations for the company's protection, kickbacks and money laundering through shell companies.
Fundraising by Indian companies through equity and debt reached an all-time high in the financial year 2024-25 (FY25), according to data collated by primedatabase.com. Fundraising through debt stood at Rs 11.1 trillion in FY25, including contributions from InvITs (infrastructure investment trusts) and REITs (real estate investment trusts).
The National People's Party, which rules Meghalaya, is another national party which received no donations through electoral bonds.
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Leaders of several opposition parties on Thursday hailed the Supreme Court verdict striking down the electoral bonds scheme and termed it an important step in ensuring transparency in electoral funding.
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Short-term government bonds fell behind longer-dated securities in demand this month so far due to a liquidity crunch in the banking system and expectations of a delay in a rate cut, said market participants. Investors have favoured longer-tenure government bonds, or g-secs, with insurance companies and pension funds leading the charge by stocking up on those with maturities of 30 years and more. Preference for longer-term securities was strengthened by the conclusion of the borrowing programme, which compelled institutional investors to fulfil their requirements in the secondary market.
'Corporates who donated to political parties were guaranteed by the electoral bond scheme that their names and to who they were donating funds will be not disclosed.'
The apex court bench, also comprising justices Sanjiv Khanna, BR Gavai, JB Pardiwala, and Manoj Misra, will assemble at 10.30 am to hear the two petitions.
The Congress on Wednesday questioned the Election Commission's move to get a post on electoral bonds scheme deleted from social media platform X and said that the issue raised in the post makes the government 'extremely uncomfortable'.
Net profit of 19 listed banks is likely to decline by 4 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) for the quarter ended March (Q4FY25) mainly due to pressure on net interest margins (NIM) as a result of rate cut by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), according to analysts' estimates. Additionally, loan growth is expected to further slowdown amid low demand in certain secured products, stress in the unsecured segment, and a high cost to deposit (CD) ratio across the system.
With short-term rates firming up due to tight liquidity conditions, Indian corporates are opting to borrow long term to take advantage of the attractive rates by locking them in these uncertain times. The banking system has a liquidity deficit of over Rs 2 trillion. According to market participants, engineering conglomerate Larsen & Toubro (L&T) raised Rs 1,500 crore through 10-year bonds in December 2024.
The bench, headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud, will also hear a separate plea which has sought initiation of contempt action against the SBI alleging it "wilfully and deliberately" disobeyed the apex court's direction to submit details of the contributions made to political parties through electoral bonds to the Election Commission by March 6.
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Christian Michel James, an alleged middleman in the AgustaWestland case, has claimed that attempts were made to poison him inside Tihar Jail. A Delhi court has sought a response from the prison authorities on his plea. The court has also directed that James be taken to AIIMS on April 7 for a check-up. James was extradited from Dubai in 2018 and has been in custody since then. He has been granted bail in the ED and CBI cases against him but has refused to accept bail citing security concerns. He has also alleged that he was subjected to an incident at AIIMS, the details of which he is willing to share with the court in private. The court has ordered James to furnish a personal bond and surety of Rs 10 lakh in both cases and surrender his passport. The CBI chargesheet claims an estimated loss of 398.21 million euros (about Rs 2,666 crore) to the exchequer due to the deal for the supply of VVIP choppers. The ED chargesheet filed against James alleged he received 30 million euros (about Rs 225 crore) from AgustaWestland.
Chastising the State Bank of India, the Supreme Court on Monday ordered it to disclose the details of the electoral bonds encashed by political parties to the Election Commission by the close of the business hours on March 12 and warned the country's largest public sector lender that the court may proceed against it for 'wilful disobedience' if it failed to comply with its directions and deadlines.
The pace of loan growth among public sector banks (PSBs) has seen a surge in the financial year 2024-25, and this is an exception to the overall moderation in bank credit during FY25. PSU banks' share in incremental credit rose to 57.3 per cent in March from 51.7 per cent a year ago, according to the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI's) Monetary Policy Report (April 2025).
Future Gaming of lottery king Santiago Martin was the biggest purchaser of electoral bonds at Rs 1,368 crore, of which nearly 37 percent went to the DMK.
Noting that he fully respects the Supreme Court order on electoral bonds, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday said the scheme was introduced to end black money in politics and added that it should have been improved rather than scrapped.
"But the BJP wants it to be done after Lok Sabha elections. The tenure of this Lok Sabha will end on 16th June and SBI wants to share the data by 30th June," Kharge said.
Gold prices rose by Rs 70 to hit yet another record high of Rs 98,170 per 10 grams in the national capital on Thursday amid firm global demand, according to the All India Sarafa Association. On Wednesday, the precious metal of 99.9 per cent purity soared by Rs 1,650 to hit an all-time high of Rs 98,100 per 10 grams.
In its verdict last month, the top court directed the SBI to furnish the details to the Election Commission (EC) by March 6.
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