The Indrajit Gupta Committee is associated with:

The Indrajit Gupta Committee on State Funding of Elections was set up in 1998 to examine whether the government should bear part of the cost of election campaigns, as a way to reduce the role of black money in politics. It is therefore an important committee on electoral reforms.

About Indrajit Gupta:

• He was a senior leader of the Communist Party of India and a long-serving Member of Parliament.
• He served as Union Home Minister in 1996 to 1998, in the United Front governments.

Why the committee was set up:

• Elections in India had become very expensive.
• Candidates and parties often depended on donations from businesses and individuals, sometimes in unaccounted cash.
• This led to corruption and the influence of money power on policy.

Main recommendations:

• State funding is constitutionally and legally justified and is in the public interest.
• State funding should be partial, not full, because the economy could not bear the full cost.
• State support should be given in kind, not in cash, for example free air time on government media, free fuel for vehicles, and printing of electoral rolls for candidates.
• Funding should be given only to recognised national and state parties and their candidates.
• Parties must maintain proper accounts and submit them for audit.
• Independent candidates should not get state funding.

What happened later:

• State funding of elections was not fully implemented.
• Some benefits in kind, such as free broadcast time on Doordarshan and All India Radio for recognised parties, were introduced.
• The Law Commission (1999) and the National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution (2002) also discussed state funding.

Related issue:

The question of transparency in political funding continues to be debated, including the role of corporate donations.

Why not the other options?

• ✗Banking reforms, Centre-State relations and delimitation were handled by other bodies.