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‘69% of political funds from unknown sources’

Context

Article talks about the findings of a recent report by Association of Democratic Reforms (ADR)

 

Findings of the report

  • Total income: The total income of national and regional political parties between 2004-05 and 2014-15 stood at ₹11,367 crore, with the highest of ₹3,982 crore being the Congress’s share
  • Major income from unknown sources: However, 69% of the income of these parties was from unknown sources, according to an analysis done by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR)
    • Increase in income from unknown sources:The income of national parties from unknown sources increased by 313% during the decade
      • For the regional parties, it went up by 652%
      • The BSP is the only party which has got 100% of its income through donations from unknown sources. Its total income increased by 2,057%, from ₹5.19 crore during 2004-05 to ₹111.96 crore in 2014-15.
    • Voluntary contributions: The total donations above ₹20,000 per entry, for which the national parties are to declare the sources, was about ₹1405.19 crore
    • IT Returns: The Income-Tax returns of 42 of the 51 regional parties analysed were unavailable for at least one financial year. The total declared income of regional parties during the period stood at ₹2,089 crore, the highest being that of the Samajwadi Party at ₹819 crore, followed by the DMK with ₹203 crore and the AIADMK with ₹165 crore

     

    Recommendations of ADR

    Based on the report, ADR has recommended that,

    • Details of donors: Full details of all donors be made available for public scrutiny under the RTI
    • Some countries where this is done include Bhutan, Nepal, Germany, France, Italy, Brazil, Bulgaria, the United States and Japan. In none of these countries it is possible for almost 75% of the source of funds to be unknown, but at present it is so in India
    • Any organisation that receives foreign funding should not be allowed to support or campaign for any candidate or political party
    • Scrutiny by a separate body: Scrutiny of the political party’s financial documents should be conducted annually by a body approved by the EC and the Comptroller and Auditor General for greater transparency and accountability

     

    Read More: You can find the report here