EVM snippets

They don’t just record your votes anymore — for the 2009 Lok Sabha elections electronic voting machines (EVMs) will also keep track of the moment at which you cast your vote. The clock is built into the control unit, says Amol Newaskar, general manager, Bharat Electronics Limited, Bangalore, which is one of the two public sector companies authorized by the Election Commission to manufacture EVMs. The clock records the time at which voting begins and also gives the hourly voting percentage without giving details about how many votes a candidate has polled. “The clocks have been there since 2006-07. They can help prevent any kind of fraud. For example, if there is heavy polling during the opening or closing hours, officials can be on alert and investigate the reason. Or if someone disputes his vote, it will show the time at which he cast it,” he says. BEL director H S Badoria said clocks were also being installed by the Hyderabad-based Electronics Corporation of India (ECIL), the other PSU supplying EVMs. BEL and ECIL supply an equal number of EVMs to the Election Commission. For the 2009 Lok Sabha polls, BEL has delivered 1,02,000 EVMs with timers and an equal number of Braille EVMs six months back after they got orders from the Election Commission and state governments, says Badoria. ECIL has also delivered an equal number. Each EVM costs Rs 9,800, inclusive of tax and excise, and it takes BEL about three months to deliver the units. EVMs were first tested in Kerala during a by-election in 1982. Since then, BEL and ECIL have been supplying EVMs for trial runs and for various elections from the panchayat level to the Lok Sabha. The two companies have supplied around 15,00,000 units, since the country went digital during elections. In the 2004 Lok Sabha elections, they were used across the country. Company technicians check the EVMs before every election and replace worn-out parts and batteries. Now, EVMs are also being exported. The government donated 470 EVMs to Nepal, and Namibia has ordered 1,700 machines. Production will start after the company gets an advance from Namibia, says Badoria. Malaysia and a few other countries have also shown interest in buying EVMs. Delegations from these countries have inspected the EVMs and wanted modifications in the design to suit their needs.