Previous Year Question
Consider the following Election Reforms in India and arrange them in correct chronological order starting from earliest to the last.
Voters photo identity card
Electronic voting machine
Voter verifiable paper audit trail
NOTA
Select the correct answer from the code given below:
Code:
2, 1, 3, 4
1, 2, 4, 3
1, 2, 3, 4
2, 1, 4, 3
Correct Answer: A
Detailed Solution
The Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) came first among the four. EVMs were used for the first time in an election in 1982 in the Parur Assembly Constituency of Kerala. Subsequently, Section 61A was inserted in the Representation of the People Act, 1951 to provide legal sanction for the use of EVMs, and it became effective in 1989.
Next came the large-scale Electors Photo Identity Card (EPIC) programme. To establish the identity of genuine electors and prevent impersonation, the Commission started the EPIC scheme in 1993. An important direction in this regard was issued on 28 August 1993.
Third comes the Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT). The legal framework enabling VVPAT was introduced on 14 August 2013, and it was first actually used in an election on 4 September 2013 in the Noksen Assembly by-election in Nagaland. VVPAT enables a voter to verify that the vote has been recorded for the intended candidate.
NOTA (None of the Above) came thereafter. The Supreme Court judgment dated 27 September 2013 paved the way for providing the NOTA option on EVMs/Ballot Papers, and implementation instructions were issued on 11 October 2013.
Thus, placing the dates together—
EVM — 1982 → EPIC — 1993 → VVPAT — 4 September 2013 → NOTA — after the judgment of 27 September 2013