Electoral Bond
Electoral Bond is a mode of funding to political parties in India. The scheme of Electoral Bond was introduced in The Finance Bill, 2017 during Union Budget 2017-18 when the maximum limit of cash donation to political parties was capped at ₹2,000 by Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs, Arun Jaitley in a move to enhance the transparency of political party financing. He proposed to amend the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Act in order to facilitate the issuance of electoral bonds by banks for the purpose of political funding. The proposal by Finance Minister also suggested taking action against political parties that fail to submit their tax returns. Although these parties are exempt from paying income tax, the act of filing returns could potentially enhance transparency within the system. Electoral Bonds were introduced specifically as an integral component of the Union Budget and hence classified as a Money Bill. According to the Indian Constitution, Money Bills are legislation that are exempt from the requirement of being "passed" in the Rajya Sabha, as the upper house is only permitted to offer commentary on such bills introduced in Lok Sabha. Although introduced in early 2017, the Department of Economic Affairs