7th tranche of electoral bonds sale to kick off from January 1

New Delhi: The seventh tranche of electoral bonds sale will take place from January 1 to January 10, a government release said.

"The State Bank of India (SBI), in the VII Phase of sale of Electoral Bonds, has been authorised to issue and encash Electoral Bonds through its 29 Authorised Branches w.E.F. January 01 - 10, 2019," government said in an official release.

Electoral bonds are being pitched as an alternative to cash donations made to political parties as part of efforts to bring transparency in political funding.

Government has clarified that Electoral Bonds shall be valid for fifteen calendar days from the date of issue and no payment shall be made to any payee Political Party if the Electoral Bond is deposited after expiry of the validity period. The Electoral Bond deposited by an eligible Political Party in its account shall be credited on the same day.

The government notified the Electoral Bond Scheme in January this year. As per provisions, Electoral Bonds may be purchased by Indian citizen either singly or jointly with other individuals.

Only the Political Parties registered under Section 29A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 (43 of 1951) and which secured not less than one per cent of the votes polled in the last General Election to the House of the People or the Legislative Assembly of the State, shall be eligible to receive the Electoral Bonds. The Electoral Bonds shall be encashed by an eligible Political Party only through a Bank account with the Authorized Bank.

Electoral bonds aggregating to Rs 1,056.73 crore were purchased by citizens or entities till the completion of sixth phase of issuance of electoral bonds in November 2018.