State Bank of India (SBI) said it had raised ₹10,000 crore at a coupon rate of 7.36% through its fifth infrastructure bond issuance.

“The issue attracted overwhelming response from investors with bids in excess of ₹19,884 crore and was oversubscribed by around four times against the base issue size of ₹5,000 crore,” the bank said in a statement.

“The total number of bids received was 143 indicating wider participation with heterogeneity of bids. The investors were across provident funds, pension funds, insurance companies, mutual funds and corporates,” it added. 

The proceeds of bonds will be utilised in enhancing long-term resources for funding infrastructure and affordable housing segment.

“Based on the response, the bank has decided to accept ₹10,000 crore at a coupon rate of 7.36% payable annually. This represents a spread of 21 bps over the corresponding FBIL G-Sec par curve,” SBI said. 

With the current issuance, the total outstanding Long-Term Bonds issued by the Bank is at ₹49,718 crore.

SBI Chairman Dinesh Khara said that this issuance would help in developing a long-term bond curve and encourage other banks to issue bonds of longer tenor.

Twelve of the 20 new companies which bought electoral bonds were from Hyderabad.
| Photo Credit: Akash Dhage/Unsplash

Despite companies in existence for less than three years not being allowed to make political contributions — even through the electoral bonds route — data shows that at least 20 such newly incorporated firms purchased poll bonds worth about ₹103 crore (Table 1).

At the time when they purchased their first electoral bonds, five of these firms were in existence for less than a year, seven of them were a year old and the eight others had only completed two years. Notably, many of these firms were started in 2019 when the Indian economy went through recession or during the middle of the pandemic and bought electoral bonds worth crores of rupees just months after incorporation.

Also read: Electoral bonds data | Full list of donors and recipient political parties

The ban on companies making political contributions within three years from incorporation has been in existence for nearly four decades. In 1985, the Parliament amended Section 293A, lifting the ban on political contributions by firms subject to a few conditions. One of the conditions was that the firms should not be owned by the government and should not be less than three years old. This clause was retained under Section 182 of the Companies Act, 2013. When Section 154 of the Finance Act, 2017, amended Section 182, just before the introduction of electoral bonds, this clause was again retained. However, the amendment deleted the first proviso by which the amount donated by a company was capped at 7.5% of its average net profit during its previous three financial years. The prohibition on companies making donations to political parties in their first three years continued. According to Section 182 of the Companies Act 2013, if a firm makes a donation in contravention to the provisions, “the company shall be punishable with fine which may extend to five times the amount so contributed and every officer of the company who is in default shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months and with fine which may extend to five times the amount so contributed”.

Table 1 | The table shows the names of the 20 firms which purchased the electoral bonds (EBs), within three years of their incorporation. The date of incorporation of these companies, the date on which they purchased their first poll bond, the difference between the two dates along with the total worth of bonds purchased by these firms is mentioned in the table. 

Table appears incomplete? Click to remove AMP mode

Also read: Electoral bonds data | 55 firms’ purchase exceeded 7.5% cap in 2022-24, lion’s share went to BJP

12 of these 20 companies were headquartered in Hyderabad (Table 2). Together these 12 companies donated ₹37.5 crores, and close to 75% of which was encashed by the BRS, with the rest divided among the TDP, the Congress and the BJP. Two companies in Hyderabad — Tsharks Infra Developers Private Limited and Tsharks Overseas Education Consultancy Private Limited — both incorporated in 2023 — purchased ₹7.5 crore worth of bonds within months of getting incorporated and donated it to the BRS. Among the rest, HH Iron and Steel Private Limited, headquartered in Coimbatore, gave ₹15 crores to the BJP and five crores to the BJD. Their first electoral bond purchase was done just days short of turning three years old. Askus Logistics Private Limited, incorporated in November 2021, bought its first electoral bond within 1.5 years of its incorporation and donated ₹22 crores. This was encashed by the DMK, AITC and the RJD. Besseggen Infotech LLP, incorporated in May 2018, bought bonds worth ₹11.5 crores, with their first purchase done two years and ten months into their existence.

Table 2 | The table shows the city-wise split of the 20 companies.

Table 3 | The table shows the party-wise split of the encashments of the EBs purchased by the 20 companies.

Electoral bonds data | New firms bought crores of electoral bonds within months of formation

The three-year rule was retained to prevent shell companies from making political contributions. When the first proviso, which prescribed the 7.5% cap, was removed in 2017, the Election Commission of India had warned that this may lead to the use of “black money through shell companies”. The RBI had also flagged the possibility of firms misusing bearer bonds for money laundering.

The list of 20 firms is not exhaustive as it does not include the firms which were newly incorporated after mergers and amalgamations. The list also does not include firms that are not in the MCA

With inputs from Rebecca Rose Varghese

Watch our Data video:Electoral bonds banned: Which party benefitted the most while it existed?

New Delhi:

After being rapped by the Supreme Court, the State Bank of India has submitted all the details on electoral bonds to the Election Commission. The data includes the all-important unique numbers for the bonds, which will help match the donors with the political parties that were the recipients. 

The SBI submitted an affidavit of compliance to the Supreme Court on Thursday. One of the points of the affidavit reads, “It is respectfully submitted that SBI has now disclosed all details and that no details [other than complete account numbers & KYC details] have been withheld from disclosure.” 

The details given by the bank are expected to be uploaded by the Election Commission on its website shortly. 

The SBI had earlier given two lists to the Election Commission, which were released by the poll panel on its website on March 14. The first had the names of the donors, the denominations of the bonds, and the dates on which they were purchased. The other had names of the political parties as well as the denominations of the bonds and the dates on which they were encashed.

Without the unique numbers, however, there was no way of linking the lists and finding out which donor had given money to which party. 

New Delhi:

A journalist who had questioned the authenticity of the data shared by the State Bank of India (SBI) on electoral bonds has admitted that she was mistaken. Poonam Agarwal had, in a series of tweets, claimed that she bought electoral bonds only in 2018, but the data released showed she had purchased a bond in 2020. But yesterday, the journalist said she may have forgotten about the bonds she bought in 2020 as it was the year of the Covid pandemic.

“I have come across a video that I recorded at The Quint in which I am showing an Electoral Bond dated 20/10/2020. I don’t remember purchasing a bond in 2020 but only in 2018. A unique number will clear many doubts. Till then let’s not question SBI data,” Poonam Agarwal said in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

“One can blame it on my poor memory. 2020 was COVID outbreak year, many things were happening. Maybe that’s why I don’t remember it. My apologies for my poor memory,” she added.

One can blame it on my poor memory. 2020 was COVID outbreak year, many things were happening. Maybe that’s why I don’t remember it. My apologies for my poor memory.

— Poonam Agarwal (@poonamjourno) March 18, 2024

The electoral bonds scheme, introduced by the BJP government in 2018, allowed individuals and businesses to donate anonymously to political parties. The Supreme Court struck down in January and directed SBI to share all details on the donations made in the last 5 years.

When the SBI shared the first set of data, there were concerns raised as it did not contain electoral bond numbers which would have helped link donations to political parties.

Regarding this data, independent journalist Poonam Aggarwal then claimed that the purchase of bonds in her name had been shown from the wrong date. Poonam said that the data is incorrect because she had purchased two bonds worth Rs 1,000 each in April 2018, whereas the data available on the Election Commission website shows the same purchase in her name in October 2020.

I bought 2 #ElectoralBonds of Rs 1,000 each in April 2018. But the data shows my name as a purchaser of dated 20 Oct 2020. Is this an error, inaccuracy or my namesake purchased the bond. It will be a big coincidence.
A unique hidden no. in d data would’ve cleared doubts. pic.twitter.com/tgwke2MEIj

— Poonam Agarwal (@poonamjourno) March 17, 2024

But after her video showing the 2020 bonds went viral, she issued a clarification saying that the SBI data shouldn’t be questioned.

According to the data released by the Election Commission of India, the BJP received the maximum funds through these bonds (Rs 6,986.5 crore) since the scheme was implemented in 2018. Trinamool Congress was a distant second (Rs 1,397 crore) and Congress ranked third (Rs 1,334 crore).

The Supreme Court has directed the State Bank of India (SBI) to disclose all details related to the electoral bonds, which allowed individuals and companies to make donations to political parties. It has also asked the country’s largest lender to file an 

“Every bit of information should come out. All details should come out. We want to ensure that nothing has bee suppressed,” said Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud.

The top court is today hearing a petition against the “incomplete data” provided by the SBI on the donations made to political parties through electoral bonds.

The court had struck down the scheme and directed the bank to share all details on the donations made in the last 5 years.Hearing a petition by the Election Commission, the Supreme Court sent a notice to SBI saying that the data provided on electoral bonds was incomplete

New Delhi:

The Supreme Court today came down hard on the State Bank of India for not sharing the complete data on electoral bonds, a scheme that allowed individuals and businesses to donate anonymously to political parties. The court had struck down the scheme and directed the bank to share all details on the donations made in the last 5 years.

Hearing a petition by the Election Commission, the Supreme Court said that the data provided by the Supreme Court was incomplete. The five-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, directed SBI to disclose electoral bond numbers as well, in addition to the details it has already shared.

“Who is appearing for the State Bank of India? They have not disclosed the bond numbers. It has to be disclosed by the State Bank of India,” Chief Justice Chandrachud said right at the outset of the hearing.

In its notice to SBI, the Supreme Court bench has asked the bank to explain the lapse during the next hearing on March 18.

The electoral bond numbers would help establish the link between donors and political parties.

Electoral bonds allowed individuals and businesses to donate money to political parties without declaring it. They were introduced by the BJP government in 2018 as an alternative to cash donations and had been pitched as an initiative to bring transparency in political funding.

The Supreme Court struck down the scheme last month, terming it unconstitutional and over concerns that this could lead to a quid pro quo. The court also urged SBI to share all details about the purchase and redemption of the bonds with the Election Commission.

In its petition, the poll panel said the March 11 order had noted that the copies of the documents submitted by it to the court in a sealed cover during the course of the hearing be maintained at the office of the EC.

The EC said it did not keep any copy of the documents and added that those may be returned so that it can comply with the court’s directions.

New Delhi:

In a big move towards transparency in political funding, the Election Commission of India has uploaded the data of the electoral bonds given to it by the State Bank of India. The details have been uploaded on Thursday, a day before the deadline set by the Supreme Court. 

The data pertains to purchases of bonds of denominations between Rs 1,000 and Rs 1 crore dating back to April 12, 2019, and reveals purchases by companies as well as individuals.  

The EC’s website has two lists. The first is of companies that purchased electoral bonds, along with the denomination and dates. The other has names of the political parties as well as the denominations of the bonds and the dates on which they were encashed. There is, however, no way of correlating the lists and finding out which company or individual had donated to which party. 

The company that contributed the most through the method is Future Gaming and Hotel Services PR, which bought bonds worth Rs 1,368 crore. Megha Engineering And Infrastructures Limited was second, purchasing bonds worth Rs 966 crore. 

At Rs 410 crore, Qwik Supply Chain Private Limited was a distant third, followed by Vedanta Limited at Rs 400 crore and Haldia Energy Limited at Rs 377 crore.

Bharti Group is sixth, having donated Rs 247 crore, followed by Essel Mining And Inds Ltd at Rs 224 crore. The remaining three in the list of top 10 donors are Western UP Power Transmission Company Limited, which contributed Rs 220 crore, Keventer Foodpark Infra Ltd, which gave Rs 195 crore, and Madanlal Ltd at Rs 185 crore.

The parties that encashed electoral bonds include the BJP, Congress, Trinamool Congress, AAP, Samajwadi Party, AIADMK, BRS, Shiv Sena, TDP, YSR Congress, DMK, JDS, NCP, JDU and RJD.

Announcing that it has released the data, the poll body said in a statement, “The Election Commission of India has today uploaded the data on electoral bonds on its website as received from SBI on ‘as is where is basis'”. 

“It may be recalled that in the said matter, ECI has consistently and categorically weighed in favour of disclosure and transparency, a position reflected in the proceedings of the Hon’ble Supreme Court and noted in the order also,” it said. 

Advocate Prashant Bhushan – who had appeared for the Association of Democratic Reforms, one of the petitioners in the electoral bonds case – pointed out that the serial numbers of the bonds were not mentioned in the data. This, he said, was necessary to figure out who donated, and how much, to which party. He also claimed that contributions not being anonymous was implicit in the Supreme Court order.

“The Info of #ElectoralBonds uploaded by EC (which they say is as recd from SBI), does not give the serial number of the bonds, which is necessary for finding who gave bond to whom. This was implicit in SC Jt. SBI affidavit said this info is recorded though in separate silos,” Mr Bhushan posted on X.

The Info of #ElectoralBonds uploaded by EC (which they say is as recd from SBI), does not give the serial number of the bonds, which is necessary for finding who gave bond to whom. This was implicit in SC Jt. SBI affidavit said this info is recorded though in separate silos. pic.twitter.com/WTcq0pmDvR

— Prashant Bhushan (@pbhushan1) March 14, 2024

The data can be accessed here. 

Supreme Court’s Warning

During a hearing on Monday, a Supreme Court bench led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud had come down heavily on the SBI for “wilful disobedience of its order” on the data being handed over to the poll body by March 6. 

The court had ordered the SBI to submit the data to the Election Commission by Tuesday, warning it of contempt proceedings if it failed to do so. The court had also directed the chairman and managing director of the bank to file an affidavit after the order had been complied with.

SBI, which is India’s largest bank, had submitted the data on Tuesday and filed the affidavit in the court the day after that. The affidavit stated that 22,217 electoral bonds were issued between April 2019 and February 15, 2024, before the Supreme Court struck down the scheme after declaring it unconstitutional and arbitrary.

The bank said political parties had redeemed 22,030 bonds while the remaining 187 were redeemed and the money was deposited in the Prime Minister’s national relief fund, in accordance with the rules.

The Supreme Court will hear a petition filed by the Election Commission on the electoral bonds order on Friday. 

New Delhi:

The Election Commission is likely to make the electoral bonds data public on its website soon after the expected disclosure by the State Bank of India. The Supreme Court today ordered the State Bank of India to submit the details of electoral bonds to the Election Commission by close of business hours tomorrow. The poll body was in turn asked by the court to make this data public on its website by Friday (March 15).

A five-judge constitution bench asked tough questions to the SBI, which unsuccessfully sought extension of time till June 30 to disclose the details of electoral bonds. The court asked senior advocate Harish Salve, who was representing the bank, about the steps taken by the SBI to comply with its landmark February 15 order that scrapped the scheme of anonymous political funding.

“Mr Salve, our judgement is dated February 15, 2024. We are now on the 11th of March. In the last 26 days, what extent of matching has been done by you? What steps have you taken in the last 26 days? The application is absolutely silent on that,” Chief Justice DY Chandrachud said.

The top court had earlier directed the SBI, the authorised financial institution under the scheme, to submit the details of the electoral bonds purchased since April 12, 2019 till date to the Election Commission by March 6.

The SBI, however, filed an application before the court two days before the expiry of the deadline seeking an extension of time until June 30 for complying with the directions. In its application, the SBI had contended that the retrieval of information from “each silo” and the procedure of matching the information of one silo to that of the other would be a time-consuming exercise.

Mr Salve said if the matching exercise was to be done away with, the SBI could complete the exercise within three weeks.

“We had not told you to do the matching exercise. We have asked you for a plain disclosure,” the Chief Justice said.

“Even your FAQs (frequently asked question), which were shown to us during the hearing, indicate that for every purchase, you have to have a separate KYC (know your customer),” the bench said, noting, “Therefore, it is very clear that every time somebody made a purchase, a KYC was mandated”.

The Supreme Court also put the SBI on notice that it may be inclined to proceed against it for “wilful disobedience” of its February 15 verdict if the bank failed to comply with its directions and timelines.

New Delhi:
The Supreme Court today dismissed the SBI’s petition seeking more time to submit details on electoral bonds. A bench led by DY Chandrachud has asked the bank to submit the information by tomorrow evening.

Here Are Supreme Court’s Top 5 Quotes

New Delhi:
An application from the State Bank of India, seeking more time to file information on electoral bonds, will be heard by the Supreme Court today. The court had given time till March 6 to file the details. The bank wants time till June 30.

Here are the Top 10 points in this big story: