Political funding
Also called: electoral bonds, campaign finance, party donations
Party finance in India is governed by disclosure rules rather than caps on income: Section 29C of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 requires parties to report contributions above a threshold, and the Companies Act limits corporate giving. Both were loosened in 2017, when the electoral bond scheme exempted bond donations from disclosure and the corporate donation ceiling was removed.
The Supreme Court struck the scheme down in February 2024 as unconstitutional, holding that a voter's right to information outweighs a donor's interest in anonymity. Nothing has replaced it, so the current position is a disclosure regime with a hole in it.
Where it sits
- GS-II · Elections, ECI, electoral reforms