Page 245 - Leap of Faith Vol - 2

Technology as Enabler Chapter 10

The ERONET acts as a backbone for data entered by AADHAAR Number could effectively weed out the
citizens on National Voters' Service Portal i.e. nvsp.in or problem of duplication thus restoring the purity of the
through Voter Helpline mobile app. electoral roll. Election Commission of India, vide its
instruction dated July 4, 2022 launched a programme to
Over 35 crore forms have been processed over ERONET in
the five years since its inception in 2018. Legacy Records collect AADHAAR numbers of existing and prospective
electors on voluntary basis w.e.f. August 1, 2022.
of the last 70 plus years have been digitised on ERONET,
and updated over the past four years to create National An array of Apps: India is home to an estimated 829
Electoral Roll. million smartphone users, which is expected to shoot up
to one billion by 2026. Apps are the new driving force
Database being managed on cloud platforms ensures behind digital revolution in governance. The Election
safety of the data. ERONET receives data entry from
Commission has developed a plethora of Android/iOS
9,00,000 electoral officers at multiple levels across the Apps for better election experience and management.
country. Highest priority is accorded to security of the
ERONET. Access to specific parts of ERONET is governed by The Voter Helpline App (2019), allows the voter to know
strict administrative, legal and technological control regime. about the election date, search the electoral roll, submit
EPIC is printed from ERONET, using highly secure features registration form, be informed about the candidates, know
such a hologram, micro-text, ghost image, encrypted QR as the estimated length of queue in booth on real time basis,
security against counterfeit. check the results etc. It integrates features of five portals
run by the Election Commission.
Real-Time Dissemination of Counting Day Trends and
The cVIGIL App (2018) facilitates the user to report to the
Results: This new IT based initiative introduced in 2019,
provides faster real-time trends and results on the authorities all violations of Model Code of Conduct
(MCC), expenditure limit on campaign, malpractices like
counting day. Besides being available on the dedicated
portal https://results.eci.gov.in the results are also
accessible on Voter Helpline App (Android/iOS). This
feature was launched ahead of the counting day in General
Elections, 2019. The Chief Electoral Officers/Returning
Officers/ District Election Officers in various states/UTs
used this live feed for local displays on digital screens.

AADHAAR Linking and Authentication of EPIC (2022):
According to Section 17 of the Representation of People
Act, 1950 no person can be registered as a voter in more
than one constituency; and similarly under Section 18 no
person can be registered more than once in any
constituency. Yet, such acts of duplication could occur due
to a variety of reasons, thus impinging upon the integrity of
the electoral roll. The linking of EPIC Number with unique

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