India has introduced a new type of electoral funding designed to improve the transparency of party funding and political donations.
Instead of the current practice of making cash donations to political parties, donors will buy electoral bonds from India's biggest state-owned banks, thus creating a record of who is donating money to whom and how much - which India's finance minister Arun Jaitley insists will make political funding more transparent.
But critics of the scheme argue that electoral bonds will make no difference, and that the public as well as India’s state-run election commission still have no way of discovering the source of most of the money that flows into various party coffers.
Political financing in India is famously opaque. In its last report on political funding, published in 2014, Global Integrity, a non-profit organisation based in Washington DC ranked India 42nd out of 54 countries surveyed on various transparency metrics. India scored 31 out of 100 on these metrics, placing it one rank above Bolivia but six ranks below neighbouring Pakistan.
Mr Jaitley announced the details of the bond scheme on January 2. Donors to political parties can buy bonds, in denominations ranging from 1,000 rupees (|Dh57.70) to 10 million rupees (Dh577,000), from branches of the government-owned State Bank of India.
Once parties receive these bonds as donations, they can cash them with the same bank, creating — in theory — a recorded paper trail of donors and the amount they donated. Since last February, individual cash donations to political parties have already been limited to 2,000 rupees, down from the previous limit of 20,000 rupees.
Defending the bond scheme In a Facebook post on Sunday Mr Jaitley said parties accepted copious amounts of “unclean” or “black” money—cash from donors who had not declared these funds to tax authorities. “The electoral bond scheme…envisages total clean money and substantial transparency coming into the system,” he said.
But the scheme does permit anonymous donations. The bonds do not bear the names of donors, and parties do not have to disclose these names in their filings to India’s election commission.Nor do corporations that have donated money have to specify the parties they have favoured in their annual reports.
This anonymity has been a persistent problem in Indian political financing, said Anil Verma, head of the New Delhi-based non-profit Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), which campaigns for transparency in electoral politics.
By law, parties have thus far been required to report the sources of donations exceeding 2,000 rupees (or 20,000 rupees before February 2017). In practice, Global Integrity’s 2014 report found, parties frequently fail to report these donations.
Reports filed with the election commission are sparse and incomplete, and the commission does not audit party finances. Successive governments have also allowed political parties to remain exempt from India’s Right to Information law, which members of the public could use to discover the details of party financing.
“So with these bonds, you and I don’t know who is donating money, and the election commission also doesn’t know,” Mr Verma said. “Who does know? The State Bank of India and therefore the government that is in power.”
For the government to possess such knowledge, he said, opened up possibilities for harassing opposition parties and their donors. “Who will twist whose tail here? I think that’s quite obvious.”
The bond scheme also fails to address another crucial problem: the tendency of parties to find rich candidates to stand for election, so that they might spend their own money on their campaigns. In its analyses of various campaigns, ADR has repeatedly that the spending in these "self-funded" campaigns frequently exceeds the limit set by the election commission.
“It looks like every political party knows these bonds will do very little to change funding patterns,” Mr Verma said. “This is why, apart from maybe some weak statements from the Congress in the opposition, no party has said anything at all.”
Wicked
Director: Jon M Chu
Stars: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
Company%20Profile
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Kanguva
Director: Siva
Stars: Suriya, Bobby Deol, Disha Patani, Yogi Babu, Redin Kingsley
Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairy Tale
Starring: Nayanthara, Vignesh Shivan, Radhika Sarathkumar, Nagarjuna Akkineni
Director: Amith Krishnan
Rating: 3.5/5
Five famous companies founded by teens
There are numerous success stories of teen businesses that were created in college dorm rooms and other modest circumstances. Below are some of the most recognisable names in the industry:
- Facebook: Mark Zuckerberg and his friends started Facebook when he was a 19-year-old Harvard undergraduate.
- Dell: When Michael Dell was an undergraduate student at Texas University in 1984, he started upgrading computers for profit. He starting working full-time on his business when he was 19. Eventually, his company became the Dell Computer Corporation and then Dell Inc.
- Subway: Fred DeLuca opened the first Subway restaurant when he was 17. In 1965, Mr DeLuca needed extra money for college, so he decided to open his own business. Peter Buck, a family friend, lent him $1,000 and together, they opened Pete’s Super Submarines. A few years later, the company was rebranded and called Subway.
- Mashable: In 2005, Pete Cashmore created Mashable in Scotland when he was a teenager. The site was then a technology blog. Over the next few decades, Mr Cashmore has turned Mashable into a global media company.
- Oculus VR: Palmer Luckey founded Oculus VR in June 2012, when he was 19. In August that year, Oculus launched its Kickstarter campaign and raised more than $1 million in three days. Facebook bought Oculus for $2 billion two years later.
If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
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RESULTS
6pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round-2 – Group 1 (PA) $55,000 (Dirt) 1,900m
Winner: Rajeh, Antonio Fresu (jockey), Musabah Al Muhairi (trainer)
6.35pm: Oud Metha Stakes – Rated Conditions (TB) $60,000 (D) 1,200m
Winner: Get Back Goldie, William Buick, Doug O’Neill
7.10pm: Jumeirah Classic – Listed (TB) $150,000 (Turf) 1,600m
Winner: Sovereign Prince, James Doyle, Charlie Appleby
7.45pm: Firebreak Stakes – Group 3 (TB) $150,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Hypothetical, Mickael Barzalona, Salem bin Ghadayer
8.20pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round-2 – Group 2 (TB) $350,000 (D) 1,900m
Winner: Hot Rod Charlie, William Buick, Doug O’Neill
8.55pm: Al Bastakiya Trial – Conditions (TB) $60,000 (D) 1,900m
Winner: Withering, Adrie de Vries, Fawzi Nass
9.30pm: Balanchine – Group 2 (TB) $180,000 (T) 1,800m
Winner: Creative Flair, William Buick, Charlie Appleby
Abramovich London
A Kensington Palace Gardens house with 15 bedrooms is valued at more than £150 million.
A three-storey penthouse at Chelsea Waterfront bought for £22 million.
Steel company Evraz drops more than 10 per cent in trading after UK officials said it was potentially supplying the Russian military.
Sale of Chelsea Football Club is now impossible.
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
If you go
The Flights
Emirates and Etihad fly direct to Johannesburg from Dubai and Abu Dhabi respectively. Economy return tickets cost from Dh2,650, including taxes.
The trip
Worldwide Motorhoming Holidays (worldwidemotorhomingholidays.co.uk) operates fly-drive motorhome holidays in eight destinations, including South Africa. Its 14-day Kruger and the Battlefields itinerary starts from Dh17,500, including campgrounds, excursions, unit hire and flights. Bobo Campers has a range of RVs for hire, including the 4-berth Discoverer 4 from Dh600 per day.
The specs
Engine: 2-litre or 3-litre 4Motion all-wheel-drive Power: 250Nm (2-litre); 340 (3-litre) Torque: 450Nm Transmission: 8-speed automatic Starting price: From Dh212,000 On sale: Now
Name: Peter Dicce
Title: Assistant dean of students and director of athletics
Favourite sport: soccer
Favourite team: Bayern Munich
Favourite player: Franz Beckenbauer
Favourite activity in Abu Dhabi: scuba diving in the Northern Emirates
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Qyubic
Started: October 2023
Founder: Namrata Raina
Based: Dubai
Sector: E-commerce
Current number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Initial investment: Undisclosed
Company profile
Name: Tharb
Started: December 2016
Founder: Eisa Alsubousi
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: Luxury leather goods
Initial investment: Dh150,000 from personal savings
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Key figures in the life of the fort
Sheikh Dhiyab bin Isa (ruled 1761-1793) Built Qasr Al Hosn as a watchtower to guard over the only freshwater well on Abu Dhabi island.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Dhiyab (ruled 1793-1816) Expanded the tower into a small fort and transferred his ruling place of residence from Liwa Oasis to the fort on the island.
Sheikh Tahnoon bin Shakhbut (ruled 1818-1833) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further as Abu Dhabi grew from a small village of palm huts to a town of more than 5,000 inhabitants.
Sheikh Khalifa bin Shakhbut (ruled 1833-1845) Repaired and fortified the fort.
Sheikh Saeed bin Tahnoon (ruled 1845-1855) Turned Qasr Al Hosn into a strong two-storied structure.
Sheikh Zayed bin Khalifa (ruled 1855-1909) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further to reflect the emirate's increasing prominence.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Sultan (ruled 1928-1966) Renovated and enlarged Qasr Al Hosn, adding a decorative arch and two new villas.
Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan (ruled 1966-2004) Moved the royal residence to Al Manhal palace and kept his diwan at Qasr Al Hosn.
Sources: Jayanti Maitra, www.adach.ae