Govt spent Rs.14 crore on printing Electoral Bonds: RTI Reply

According to data obtained through a Right to Information (RTI) query filed by transparency activist Commodore Lokesh Batra, the Union government has spent nearly Rs 14 crore on printing and managing electoral bonds. This amount is to be paid with taxpayers’ money.

The breakdown of the expenses is as follows:

• Rs 12,04,59,043 has been charged as commission for the sale of electoral bonds over 30 phases.
• Rs 1,93,73,604 accounts for the printing costs of the bonds.
• An additional Rs 6,720 has been levied for a device to verify Mask-A print security.

The printing of the electoral bonds is carried out by the Nashik-based India Security Press. The denomination-wise breakup for the printed bonds is as follows:

• 2,65,000 electoral bonds of Rs 1,000
• 2,65,000 bonds of Rs 10,000
• 93,000 bonds of Rs 1 lakh
• 26,000 bonds of Rs 10 lakh
• 33,000 bonds of Rs 1 crore.

It is important to note that the cost of printing and managing these bonds is not borne by the donors or the recipients, but by the government and ultimately the taxpayers.

Criticisms of the Electoral Bonds Scheme

Transparency activist Commodore Lokesh Batra has raised concerns about the Electoral Bonds Scheme. He highlights the irony that while donors who buy the bonds are not required to pay any service charges or printing costs, it is the government and ultimately the taxpayers who bear these expenses. Batra also points out the significant amount being spent on the use of government machinery and manpower to manage and operate the scheme for the tax-free benefits of political parties.

Recent Developments

In 2024 alone, the Narendra Modi government printed 8,350 electoral bonds of Rs 1 crore each, even after the Supreme Court had reserved its verdict on the constitutionality of the scheme in November 2023. The cost of printing one electoral bond is Rs 25, with an additional 6% GST charged by both the central and state governments.

However, it is worth noting that the Supreme Court struck down the electoral bonds scheme on February 15, 2024, calling it unconstitutional and in violation of voters’ right to information. The court directed the State Bank of India (SBI) to provide details of the bonds to the Election Commission.