Virat Kohli likely to be heavily fined for violating rules; Details here
New Delhi: Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) has taken suo-moto note of violation of the rule by Indian Cricket Team skipper Virat Kohli over one of his promotional posts on social media. The Council said it will write to the Indian skipper about the violation that can possibly result in a heavy fine being imposed on him.
Virat Kohli had recently posted a promotional campaign praising Lovely Professional University (LPU). The cricketer had tagged LPU’s official social media handles and used the hashtag #LPUStudentsInOlympics. The post was reportedly devoid of any disclosure required by ASCI’s newly launched influencer guidelines.
“ASCI will take up the issue and write to the celebrity and the advertiser for their clarifications." Manisha Kapoor, secretary-general, ASCI was quoted as saying by Mint in their report.
On Tuesday, Kohli took to social media, where he has a massive following of 228 million fans across Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, to praise LPU and its contribution to the Olympics.
“What a record, 10% of Indian Olympians are from Lovely Professional University. I hope LPU will send students to the Indian cricket team also! Jai Hind," said Kohli.
The cricketer shared a promotional advertisement by LPU, which appeared in print publication, along with a list of 11 students who are part of the Indian Olympic squad.
Communications strategy consultant Karthik Srinivasan said that Kohli is probably the most popular and leading influencer in India and it is almost incumbent upon ASCI to take some sort of action and at least comment on it. “…it is critical so that it doesn’t set a bad precedence. I’ve reached out to ASCI and they said they are taking it up suo moto on their own. All other influencers and the agencies are keenly looking forward to what ASCI will do in this case or how the penalty will be imposed, if there’s a penalty at all as it will set a new direction. This is the first time the rules are being implemented, we do not know how much power does ASCI have but it has to be vocal," he was quoted by Mint.
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Electoral trusts fill BJP coffers after scrapping of electoral bonds, shows ECI website
New Delhi: Contrary to expectations that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) would be adversely affected by the Supreme Court’s scrapping of the electoral bonds scheme in February 2024, the party’s finances have seen a significant boost in 2024–25 through electoral trusts. It has emerged that electoral trusts alone donated ₹2,577 crore to the BJP during this period.
Following the abolition of electoral bonds, corporate donors seeking partial anonymity appear to have shifted to the electoral trust route, with the BJP continuing to be the largest beneficiary.
According to data available on the Election Commission of India’s website, a total of ₹4,276 crore was donated through electoral trusts, of which the ruling BJP received 83.6 per cent. Compared to 2023–24, corporate donations flowing to the BJP have increased nearly fourfold. The Congress received 7.3 per cent of the total donations, while the Trinamool Congress accounted for 3.6 per cent.
Donations received through electoral trusts constitute only a portion of the total funds collected by political parties. Parties also receive contributions directly from individuals, corporates, institutions and charitable organisations. Over the past several years, donations from sources other than electoral trusts have also shown a steady increase.
