SBIs RTI reveals over Rs 15,000 cr in electoral bond sales since 2018

New Delhi, December 28: The State Bank of India, the sole issuer and encasher of electoral bonds, revealed in response to an RTI query that 27,133 bonds worth Rs 15,956.3096 crore have been sold across 29 tranches since the Electoral Bond Scheme's inception in 2018.

According to transparency activist Commodore Lokesh Batra (retd), the SBI disclosed that among the total sold bonds, 194 worth ₹23.8874 crore remained unencashed and were consequently transferred to the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund (PMNRF). The 29th tranche witnessed all 1,109 issued bonds between November 6 and November 20 being encashed, as confirmed by the SBI. During April 2017 to March 2022, the PMNRF has accumulated a total of Rs 2,065.69 crore, according to the official website records.

Over the period from 2019 to 2022, the India Security Press, Nashik, has printed 674,250 electoral bonds valued at Rs 28,531.5 crore. It's notable that while the State Bank of India manages the issuance and encashment of electoral bonds, it does not print them. The authorised branches obtain these bonds from the Indian government across different calendar years.