National
Electoral bonds launched in clean-up bid (Lead)
New Delhi, Jan 2 (IANS) The government on Tuesday notified a scheme of electoral bonds in a bid to clean the system and bring transparency in political funding in the country.
Announcing the launch of the scheme in Parliament, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said the electoral bonds will bring a substantial amount of transparency in political donations against the present system of contributions.
The electoral bonds will be a bearer instrument in the nature of a promissory note and interest-free banking instrument which any citizen or a corporate body will be eligible to purchase.
The bonds would be issued in multiples of Rs 1,000, Rs 10,000, Rs 1 lakh, Rs 10 lakh and Rs 1 crore from specified branches of SBI.
The purchaser would be allowed to buy the bonds after fulfilling the KYC norms and by making payment from a bank account. It will not carry the name of the payee.
The bonds would have a life of only 15 days during which it can be used for making donations only to registered political parties which have secured at least one per cent of the votes polled in the assembly or Lok Sabha elections.
“Fifteen days between buying and selling is to ensure that they don’t turn into parallel currency,” Jaitley said.
In his Budget speech last year, the Finance Minister had announced that the government would bring in a scheme of electoral bonds to clean the system of political funding in the country.
Jaitley told reporters later that the intention of floating these bonds is to bring transparency in the funding of political parties and the election funding mechanism at large.
“The political funding mechanism developed over the last 70 years has faced wide criticism as people don’t get clear details about how much money comes, from where it comes and where it is spent,” he said.
He said to change the system of anonymous donations, the government brought a change in 2001 which made all donations made through cheques tax-exempt but that did not make a huge impact as only a few parties got some money through cheques.
“Even today, anonymous donations are very large in quantity. This money is from unknown sources and is neither clean nor transparent,” he said.
The bonds under the scheme shall be available for purchase for a period of 10 days each in the months of January, April, July and October, as may be specified by the Central government
An additional period of 30 days shall be specified by the Central government in the year of Lok Sabha elections.
“The bond shall be encashed by an eligible political party only through a designated bank account with the authorised bank.”
Earlier in the Lok Sabha, Jaitley said the move would bring transparency as each donation will be reflected in the balance sheet of the donor.
“The element of transparency is that the donors who buy these bonds, their balance sheets will reflect they bought these bonds. Political parties will file their returns to the Election Commission and collectively also say this is the extent of bonds we have received.
“Therefore, this will be cleaner money coming from the donor, cleaner money coming into the hands of a political party and there would be a significant amount of transparency,” said the minister.
Jaitley said there was no transparency when cash is given as the “source of money is not known, the donor is not known, where it is spent is not known”.
–IANS
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Lucknow: Vishal Singh, a renowned social worker from Lucknow, also known as Foodman, has once again made India proud. He was honored by the Happy Hands Gloves Cooperative Limited Company in Korathai, Thailand, for his work with the Hunger Free World Mission.
The Hunger Free World Mission’s meeting was held in Korathai, Thailand, under Vishal Singh’s leadership. Representatives from several countries, including Mr. Raja Dwivedi (Managing Director of Happy Hands Gloves Limited), Thailand Coordinator Mr. Raja Mishra, and member Mr. Varun Singh, attended the event.
Under Vishal Singh’s leadership, the attendees took a pledge to work together toward creating a hunger-free world.
Speaking on the occasion, Vishal Singh explained that the main goal of the Hunger Free World Mission is social participation. He said the mission is not just about feeding people but also about meeting other basic needs of those who are struggling. The mission focuses on helping families of terminally ill patients in hospitals by providing food and shelter. It also works to fulfill essential needs like education, jobs, and care for the elderly.
For the last 16 years, the Vijay Sri Foundation has been providing free services, benefiting thousands of people. Vishal Singh highlighted that the mission aims to gain global recognition like other organizations such as WHO, WWF, and Red Cross, which work for social causes.
During this meeting, Vishal Singh was appointed as the Chairman of the Hunger Free World Mission by representatives from various countries. They also discussed holding regular meetings in different countries to push the mission forward.
Business tycoon Dr. Abhishek Verma has also supported this humanitarian mission, vowing to promote the idea of “Seva Parmo Dharma” (Service is the highest duty) worldwide. Vishal Singh praised him, stating that people like Dr .Abhishek Verma inspire others to work for the betterment of society.
Recently, Romania’s Ambassador, Mr . Daniela Sezonov Ţane, invited Vishal Singh to the Romanian Embassy in Delhi, where they discussed the mission in detail. Impressed by his humanitarian work, she honored Vishal Singh and invited him to Romania to take the mission forward .
Food man Vishal Singh has been serving the people of India for the past 16 years. Through the Vijay Sri Foundation, he provides free meals to cancer patients & their families ,shelter, and education for women & children along with running free old-age homes in Lucknow.
In addition to his humanitarian work, Vishal Singh also addresses issues like crime and corruption through his role as Chairman of Seva Path Media and Managing Director of Vijay Sri Foundation.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Vishal Singh and his team worked tirelessly to provide food and help to the needy, including starving children, elderly citizens, and pregnant women. Despite contracting the virus himself, he continued to assist others after his recovery. He even created a life-saving oxygen regulator using household items, which was praised by doctors both in India and abroad.
In his address at the meeting, Vishal Singh spoke about his mission to create a hunger-free world. He pointed out that India’s large population, along with issues like unemployment and poverty, has caused the country to fall on the Hunger Index. He urged people to contribute just one handful of grains daily to help create a hunger-free world.
He concluded by saying that through social participation, we can empower the people around us, meet their basic needs, and work together to build a stronger, more prosperous, and developed society.
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