Jobaaj Stories
Vedanta Ltd, a prominent mining company, disclosed in a regulatory filing that it donated a total of Rs 155 crore to political parties during the financial year 2022-23. The donations were made through the subscription of "electoral bonds," marking an increase from the Rs 123 crore donated in the previous fiscal year. Over the past five years, Vedanta, led by Anil Agrawal, has donated a cumulative amount of Rs 457 crore through electoral bonds, as reported by The Economic Times.
The government's introduction of the electoral bond system in 2018 provides registered political parties with an alternative to monetary contributions. The State Bank of India (SBI) acts as the sole authorized lender responsible for issuing and encashing these bonds.
A report by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) revealed that more than half of the income of four major national political parties in 2021-22 was derived from donations through electoral bonds. With a total of Rs. 1,033.70 crore, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) received the most funding, followed by the Trinamool Congress (TMC) with Rs. 528.143 crore. The Indian National Congress received Rs 236.09 crore, while the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) received Rs 14 crore.
According to the ADR report, between 2018 and 2022, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) received Rs 5,270 crore in donations through electoral bonds, followed by the Congress with Rs 964 crore and the Trinamool Congress (TMC) with Rs 767 crore.
In its latest annual report, Vedanta stated that it invested $1.2 billion in growth capital expenditure in FY23 and has committed an additional $1.7 billion in FY24 for various growth projects.
Vedanta Resources (VRL), the UK-based parent company of Vedanta, faced media attention due to $4.2 billion payment dues for this fiscal year. The company has already paid $2 billion of its liabilities by June 2023, with the remaining amount due on January 21,
— Harshita Kumar
Must Read, A Legendary Librarian and Humanitarian
