Electoral Bonds worth over ₹676 crore sold during a single week in November: RTI
The Hindu
Only one bond worth ₹1,000 yet to be encashed
As many as 954 Electoral Bonds (EBs), of which 666 were of the denomination of ₹1 crore, were sold during a week-long period last month and all, but one worth ₹1,000, were subsequently encashed.
Mumbai sold the maximum among these followed by Delhi with both cities accounting for the sale of as many as 628 of the total 954 EBs sold during phase 23 between November 9 and 15, according to data provided by the State Bank of India (SBI) to transparency activist Commodore Lokesh Batra (retd.) in an RTI reply.
EBs worth ₹ 6,76,26,00,000, that is over 676 crores, the reply stated, had been sold during the exercise with Mumbai accounting for sales worth ₹3,09,45,00,000 (over ₹ 309 crores) and Delhi for ₹2,25,40,01,000 (₹225 crores).
“In the 23rd phase, 98.5% Electoral Bonds sold are of the value of ₹1 crore each,” Commodore Batra said. Among the total number of EBs sold, 666 were of the denomination of ₹1 crore, 143 of ₹1 lakh, 88 worth ₹10 lakh, 27 of ₹10,000 and 30 worth ₹1,000.
According to the reply, EBs worth ₹6,76,25,99,000 were encashed of which bonds worth ₹6,60,25,99,000 were redeemed in Delhi and worth ₹16,00,00,000 in Hyderabad. The sole EB yet to be encashed, worth ₹ 1,000, was sold in Delhi, according to the reply.
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