29th tranche of electoral bonds okayed; sale to begin from November 6

With elections in five states at hand, the government on November 4 gave its nod to the issuance of 29th tranche of electoral bonds.

The sale of these bonds will start on November 6.

The decision comes as campaigning heats up in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Mizoram. These elections will be spread over the November 7-30 period. Votes will be counted on December 3.


Electoral bonds are a part of efforts to foster transparency in political funding. These have been pitched as an alternative to cash donations to parties.

The Finance ministry said in a statement, "Government of India has authorised State Bank of India (SBI), in the XXIX Phase of sale, to issue and encash Electoral Bonds through its 29 Authorised Branches w.e.f. November 6-20, 2023."

The sale of the first batch of electoral bonds happened in March 2018.

Electoral bonds can be cashed by an eligible party exclusively through a bank a/c with the authorised bank.

It may be noted that the SBI is the only authorised bank to issue electoral bonds.

The authorised SBI branches include those in Bengaluru, Lucknow, Shimla, Dehradun, Kolkata, Guwahati, Chennai, Patna, New Delhi, Chandigarh, Srinagar, Gandhinagar, Bhopal, Raipur, and Mumbai.

Electoral bonds will be valid for 15 calendar days from the date of issue, according to a FinMin rule. Besides, no payment will be made to any payee party if the bond is deposited after validity expiry.

It is worth mentioning here that electoral bonds can be purchased by Indian citizens or entities incorporated or established in the country.

Registered parties that have secured not less than 1% of the votes polled in last Lok Sabha or legislative assembly elections are eligible to receive funding through these bonds.