With Prime Minister Narendra Modi having advocated simultaneous Lok Sabha and state assembly polls in several of his public speeches and President Pranab Mukherjee lending him support, sufficient background is being created for the roll out of this major election makeover. While the Election Commission of India waits for the government to take more concrete legal action, it is alongside readying the new age EVM to take on the challenge. The latest avatar of the Electronic Voting Machine is called ‘M3’ and the Election Commission is looking to ramp up its production ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. The plans are to replace all pre 2006 EVMs with the M3- a more sophisticated machine with built in self diagnostics, minimal chances of machine failure and the ability to clamp shut the moment any tampering effort is made.
The M3 comes with digital verification system coded into each machine which is necssary toe stablish contact between its two component units. This makes it absolutely tamper proof. The M1 and M2 are the older versions of the EVM with M1 being kept out of use. The first EVM was used in a 1982 by poll election and came to be used on a larger scale starting in 1992.
While the EC has moved very cautiously and conservatively, having only two PSUs manufacture EVMs so far, with a simultaneous poll on the horizon, the need is being felt to ramp up the production. The EC has recently sought permission from the government to include one more PSU in the mix so the M3 can come in faster.
Central Electronics Ltd in Ghaziabad could soon join Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL) and Electronics Corporation of India, sources in the EC confirmed.
The government also gave a serious indicator of its willingness to go the simultaneous poll road by sanctioning Rs 1,009 crore to the EC in December 2016 for purchase of new EVMs.
Full Article: Election Commission plans to replace all pre-2006 EVMs with advanced M3 machines – The Economic Times.