The current elections in India have brought a tsunami of political money from private firms that now can give an unlimited amount of money to political parties – in exchange for disclosing what they have donated.

A new article in The Economist, “Black Money Power,” highlights the changes brought about by a new legal framework in January 2013, that permits India’s largest industrial houses to use electoral trusts.

Campaigns for seats in India’s parliament and state assemblies are estimated to cost about $4.9 billion. They would rank second in the world to America’s 2012 $6 billion cost.