What insights does the electoral bond data published by the ECI offer?

PTC News Desk: The Electoral Commission of India (ECI) has adhered to the Supreme Court's directive by publishing electoral bond data on its official website on March 14. This move towards transparency in political funding has garnered significant attention and analysis.

In the recently released electoral bond data, the primary identifier on the donor side is the name of the company or individual. To glean further insights into the donor entities, a meticulous process was undertaken. An exact name match was conducted with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) database to obtain their unique identification, enabling a deeper exploration into the basic data available from MCA.

The outcomes of this analysis have yielded notable findings, shedding light on the intricacies of political financing in India.

Who are the largest contributors?

According to the released data, there were 1,260 companies and individuals who bought electoral bonds totaling ₹12,769 crore. The top 20 contributors, all of which are companies, collectively donated Rs 5,945 crore—representing nearly half of the total amount contributed through electoral bonds.

Who are the largest individual contributors?

Leading the list of individual donors is Ms. SN Mohanty, with total donations amounting to Rs 45 crore. Following closely behind is Lakshmi Niwas Mittal, who donated Rs 35 crore. Below is the compilation of the top ten individual donors.

Companies meeting minimum mandated capital

Out of approximately 500 companies analyzed, we successfully identified exact name matches with the MCA database. Among these, 43 companies maintained the minimum mandated capital of Rs 1 lakh. Below are the top 10 companies ranked by bonds purchased.

Recently established companies

Out of roughly 500 companies examined, we achieved precise name matches with the MCA database. Among these, 28 companies were established on or after April 12, 2019, coinciding with the initiation of electoral bond purchases. Presented below are the top 10 purchasers of electoral bonds among these newly incorporated entities.

Comparison of Bond Purchases to Net Profits

Among the top 20 purchasers of electoral bonds, financial data was available for 13 companies. Here's a look at how their bond purchases correlate with their net profits.

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(Inputs from agencies)

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