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Govt & Politics 

Verification of VVPAT slips: Top court says source code of EVMs cannot be disclosed 

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Indian Polity and Governance

Mains Examination: GS-II: Governance, Constitution and Polity.

What’s the ongoing story- Stating that no candidate has yet pointed to a mismatch between the votes polled on Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and the slips printed by the Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) machine, the Supreme Court Wednesday reserved its order on a bunch of petitions seeking 100 per cent verification of votes with the slips, saying it cannot issue directions on the basis of mere suspicion.

Prerequisites:

— What is an electronic voting machine (EVM)? How does it work? When were EVMs first used in elections?

— In which Lok Sabha election were EVMs used in every booth?

— What are VVPATs?

— Read Article 324 of the Indian Constitution and the Election Commission of India.

— Representation of People Act, 1981.

Key takeaways: 

— A two-judge bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta also said “we cannot control elections” and “we are not the controlling authority of another constitutional authority”.

— The bench reiterated that the source code of the EVMs should not be disclosed as the Election Commission of India (ECI) informed it that the micro-controllers installed in the machines are one-time programmable and cannot be changed.

— Answering the bench’s query on the microcontroller of the machines on Wednesday, an ECI official explained that all three units in an EVM — a Ballot Unit, Control Unit and VVPAT — have their own microcontrollers housed in secure unauthorised access-detection modules.

— The official informed the court that the EVMs/VVPATs are stored for a period of 45 days after polling as the limitation period for filing election petitions under The Representation of People Act, 1981.

— “Upon expiry of the period, the Chief Electoral Officer writes to High Courts to ascertain if there are any election petitions filed for any constituency…It (concerned EVM) remains sealed and locked, nobody touches it” if any election petition is filed.

— Regarding their storage, he said that the Control Unit is the most important and is sealed with a pink seal at the time of first-level checking. “At the time of commissioning of EVMs and after the polling is over, all three units are sealed. After second randomisation and commissioning, all three are stored together in the strong room as a unit. After polling, a green paper seal is applied”.

For Your Information:

— EVMs are used to cast a vote without revealing voters identity. It is used in Indian General and State Elections. It has replaced paper ballots in local, state and general (parliamentary) elections in India.

— EVMs are assembled by two PSUs — Electronics Corporation of India Ltd and Bharat Electronics.

— The VVPAT was used for the first time in all 21 polling stations of the Noksen Assembly constituency of Nagaland in 2013. The 2019 Lok Sabha elections became the first general election to have 100% of EVMs being attached to VVPATs.

Points to Ponder: 

— What are the benefits of EVM in the elections as compared to the ballot box?

— What are the concerns associated with the use of EVMs?

— What measures can be taken to secure EVMs?

— What are the demerits of the ballot box election?

— What do you understand by the mandamus writ? What are the different types of writs mentioned in Article 32 of the Indian Constitution?

Post Read Question:

Prelims

Consider the following statements: (2017)

1. The Election Commission of India is a five-member body.

2. The Union Ministry of Home Affairs decides the election schedule for the conduct of both general elections and bye-elections.

3. Election Commission resolves the disputes relating to splits/mergers of recognised political parties.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 and 2 only

(b) 2 only

(c) 2 and 3 only

(d) 3 only

Mains

In the light of recent controversy regarding the use of Electronic Voting Machines (EVM), what are the challenges before the Election Commission of India to ensure the trustworthiness of elections in India? (2018)

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

What is an EVM? How does it work?

Why VVPAT was brought in, why Opposition wants all slips verified

 

Investment in resilient infra essential in light of climate risks: PK Mishra

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Economic and Social Development

Mains Examination: GS-III: Infrastructure: Energy, Ports, Roads, Airports, Railways etc, Disaster and Disaster Management.

What’s the ongoing story- Investment in resilient infrastructure systems is essential in the light of increasing climate risks and disasters and to close the broader infrastructure gaps, said Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister PK Mishra.

Prerequisites:

— What is the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI)?

— Who are the members countries of CDRI?

— What is the  International Conference on Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (ICDRI)?

Key takeaways: 

— PK Mishra said-“We know that disaster and climate risks are increasing. In the recent past, we have seen flooding in Dubai, wildfires in Chile, earthquakes in the Pacific that have caused enormous infrastructure losses, leading to immense human suffering.”

— “Not building resilience in infrastructure systems will divert more and more funding to recovery and reconstruction after disasters. This is akin to pouring water into a bamboo basket.”

For Your Information:

— Future infrastructure needs to take into account the heightened risks arising out of the increased frequency and intensity of extreme weather events and other adverse impacts of climate change. Even existing infrastructure would need to be retrofitted to make them more resilient.

— According to CDRI estimates, every one dollar invested in making infrastructure more resilient in low- and middle-income countries can potentially save losses of over $4 when a disaster strikes.

Do you know?

— The theme of the ICDRI, 2024 is Investing today for a more resilient tomorrow.

— India has launched an initiative to make critical infrastructure in small island states resilient against disasters induced by climate change. It is part of CDRI.

Points to Ponder: 

— What is the International Solar Alliance (ISA)?

— How is CDRI similar to ISA?

— Where is ICDRI organised?

— International cooperation for Disaster Risk Resilience (DRR)

Post Read Question:

What do you understand by disaster-resilient infrastructure? Highlight the role of the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) in promoting disaster-resilient infrastructure in developing countries.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

Explained: Delhi diplomacy to fight disaster

Infra and solar alliance: India’s climate vision

 

Explained 

Art 244(A), the constitutional promise of autonomy for Assam tribal area

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Indian Polity and Governance-Constitution, Political System, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy, Rights Issues, etc.

Mains Examination: GS-II: Governance, Constitution, Polity.

What’s the ongoing story- In Assam’s tribal-majority Diphu Lok Sabha constituency, which votes on April 26, candidates of all parties have promised the implementation of Article 244(A) of the Constitution to create an autonomous ‘state within a state’. This, in fact, has been the primary election promise in Diphu for decades.

Prerequisites:

— What is Article 244(A) of the Constitution of India? How is it different from the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution?

— What are the provisions under the sixth and fifth schedules of the Indian Constitution.

— What do you understand by autonomous district councils (ADCs)?

— What are the tribal groups in Assam?

Key takeaways: 

— Article 244(A) was inserted by The Constitution (Twenty-second Amendment) Act, 1969, which enabled Parliament to pass an Act to “form within the State of Assam an autonomous State comprising (whether wholly or in part) all or any of… [certain specified] tribal areas”, including Karbi Anglong.

— This autonomous state would have its own Legislature or Council of Ministers or both. This provision goes a step further than the provisions under the Sixth Schedule, which are already in place in these areas.

— The autonomous councils under the Sixth Schedule have elected representatives for more decentralised governance of these tribal areas, but they have limited legislative powers, do not have control over law and order, and have only limited financial powers.

— The demand for autonomy is as old as the movement in the hill areas of undivided Assam, which began in the 1950s, seeking a separate hill state. This movement resulted in the creation of the full-fledged state of Meghalaya in 1972 — however, because of the promise extended through Article 244(A), the leaders of the Karbi Anglong region opted to remain with Assam.

Points to Ponder: 

— What are the issues related to the sixth schedule?

— What is the state of India’s scheduled areas?

— What is the difference between scheduled areas and tribal areas?

— What steps have been taken by the government for the development of scheduled areas?

— What is the number of Lok Sabha Constituencies in Assam?

Post Read Question:

Why are the tribals in India referred to as ‘the Scheduled Tribes? Indicate the major provisions enshrined in the Constitution of India for their upliftment. (2016)

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

Explained: Article 244 (A), its relevance for Assam hill tribes, and the politics