Cabinet gives clean chit to EC proposal for paper trail machines

The Union Cabinet has cleared the proposal from the Election Commission to use paper trail machines in future elections.


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It was the opposition’s demands to hold all future elections using paper trail machines along with EVMs, so that there remains no doubt about the authenticity of results.

The EC has asked for Rs 3,174 crore in all so that it can obtain over 16 lakh paper trail machines for all polling stations in the country.

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So far, two tranches of Rs 1,009 crore and Rs 9,200 have been cleared by the cabinet to buy new EVMs.

As per the EC, Electronics Corporation of India Limited and Bharat Electronics Limited need 30 months to produce these machines, called VVPATs that dispense a slip with the symbol of the party for which a person has voted for, without allowing them to take it home.

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