Corporate Funding scandal resurfaces as a Qalam Times investigation revisits claims that major semiconductor subsidies were followed by large political donations to the ruling BJP.
By Qalam Times Staff Correspondent
New Delhi | 28 November 2025
Corporate Funding at the Heart of a Political Storm
Corporate funding has once again pushed India’s democratic ethics into the spotlight. The latest controversy revolves around allegations that crucial semiconductor approvals granted to the Tata Group were followed by unusually large donations to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Critics argue that the timing alone raises serious questions about whether public policy is being shaped by private financial interests.
Subsidies, Semiconductor Ambitions, and Sudden Donations
Here’s the thing: India’s semiconductor mission is meant to secure the country’s technological future. But when corporate funding shows up right after massive subsidies and project clearances, it’s hard not to wonder what’s really going on.
According to investigative reporting by Scroll.in, the Tata Group secured two major semiconductor projects—
- a ₹91,000-crore fabrication plant in Dholera, Gujarat,
- and a ₹27,000-crore assembly unit in Assam.
Both were approved in February 2024 with government subsidies worth roughly ₹44,000 crore.Just weeks later, in April 2024—on the eve of the general election—the Tata-backed Progressive Electoral Trust donated ₹758 crore to the BJP. This became the largest single-year contribution from any corporate group to any political party during that election cycle.
A Strange Silence, Then a Sudden Surge
What makes the pattern stand out is that Tata’s trust had donated nothing between 2021 and 2024. Yet in 2024–25, not only did it funnel ₹758 crore to the BJP, it also sent ₹77.3 crore to the Congress and ₹10 crore each to several regional parties.
Investigators noted that other semiconductor companies approved for subsidies followed almost identical patterns:
- Murugappa Group, after receiving clearance and a ₹3501-crore subsidy, donated ₹125 crore to the BJP within days.
- Ramesh Kunhikannan of Kaynes Technology had already contributed ₹12 crore in 2023–24, shortly before his firm secured approval for a Gujarat unit in September 2024.
Nothing here may be illegal under current guidelines—but the symmetry is hard to ignore.
Electoral Bonds: The Backstory to the Money Trail
How the Scheme Worked
India’s now-defunct Electoral Bond system allowed anonymous political donations through SBI-issued bearer instruments. Companies—including loss-making ones—could buy bonds in large denominations and pass them on to any political party without disclosing their identity to the public.
Why the Supreme Court Struck It Down
On 15 February 2024, a five-judge Constitution Bench unanimously ruled the scheme unconstitutional, stating that voters have a fundamental right to know who finances political parties. The judges held that anonymity shifted democracy from “one person, one vote” to “one rupee, one vote,” strengthening the grip of big money over public policy.
SBI was ordered to hand over all donor and recipient details to the Election Commission, which released the data on 15 March 2024.
The BJP emerged with a staggering ₹6566 crore, more than 57% of all bonds redeemed nationwide.
A Decade of Unequal Money Power
Election spending limits bind candidates, but not political parties. That gap has grown into a canyon. Over ten years in power, the BJP’s financial reserves skyrocketed from ₹464 crore in 2013–14 to more than ₹7113 crore by 2023–24. Congress, by comparison, held ₹857 crore.
This financial imbalance translates directly into campaign dominance—advertising, logistics, digital outreach, and ground operations.
When Business Lobbies Shape Laws
One more thing pushes the debate into uncomfortable territory: policy outcomes.
Business groups such as FICCI had long demanded sweeping labour-law simplifications—longer work hours, easier layoffs, weaker unions. Between 2014 and 2024, the Modi government introduced four labour codes that critics say align almost word-for-word with corporate wish lists.
Workers fear a return to pre-reform conditions; companies argue it improves “flexibility.” Either way, the timing deepens concern that the state is listening more intently to boardrooms than to ordinary citizens.
A Warning Echoing from the Constituent Assembly
Back in December 1948, K.T. Shah had warned that corporate donations would one day distort democracy. His proposal to ban contributions from companies was rejected. Seventy-five years later, those fears sound less like a prophecy and more like an obituary for clean political finance.
Democracy and the Price of Silence
The pattern is difficult to miss: preferential treatment for big capital, weakened labour protections, and an electoral arena tilted by outrageous money power. When political parties rely on corporations, the citizen risks becoming a spectator in their own democracy.
Whether these revelations spark reform—or simply fade beneath the next news cycle—will decide what shape India’s democracy takes in the years ahead.
