EC holds meeting on electoral reforms

Syllabus subtopic: Salient Features of the Representation of People’s Act.

Prelims and Mains focus: About the meeting and the issues discussed; electoral reforms

News: In a fresh bid to push the electoral reforms pending with the Centre, the Election Commission (EC) met the Legislative Department of Ministry of Law and Justice officials.

Background

As many as over 40 recommendations for electoral reforms are pending with the Centre.

About the meeting

The pending issues discussed, including were

linking voter ID with Aadhaar,
allowing multiple registration windows to a new voter and
ensuring gender neutral rights for ‘service voter’,
paid news and false affidavit as electoral offence/corrupt practice;
print media and social media intermediaries to be covered under Section 126 of the RP Act 1951.

Issue of linking Aadhaar with Voter ID

Linking voter ID with Aadhaar will help weed out duplications and misrepresentations from the electoral rolls.

Aadhaar linkage and voter authentication are also considered critical to the commission’s plans to work towards electronic, internet-based voting and for giving ‘remote’ voting rights to domestic migrant workers.

Earlier, in a letter to the Law Ministry, the Commission had recently proposed that provisions of the Representation of the People Act be amended to allow EC seek Aadhaar numbers of those applying to be voters and those who are already part of the electoral rolls. Accepting the proposal to give it legal backing to collect Aadhaar data, the Law Ministry is learnt to have asked the poll panel to ensure that the data is protected at multiple levels. The EC recently listed out steps to protect the data from possible leaks.

Source: Indian Express

Join Our Telegram

Anti-Defection Law in India

Anti-Defection Law in India

18 Mar, 26
SHARE

The Supreme Court of India recently gave a final three-week deadline to the Telangana Assembly Speaker to decide pending disqualification petitions against defecting MLAs under the Anti-Defection Law. What is the Anti-Defection Law? The Anti-Defection Law was introduced through the 52nd Amendment (1985), which added the Tenth Schedule to the

Rat-Hole Mining

18 Mar, 26
SHARE

A major disaster unfolded in East Jaintia Hills, Meghalaya, when at least 18 workers died following an explosion in an illegally operating rat-hole coal mine. This incident highlights the continued prevalence of rat-hole mining despite bans imposed by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) and the Supreme Court of India. Rat-hole mining is driven

India’s Aviation Sector

17 Mar, 26
SHARE

India’s aviation sector has grown rapidly, becoming a major economic success story. However, regulatory oversight has not evolved at the same pace. Data-driven monitoring of fares and market behavior is essential to ensure fair competition, prevent market abuse, and shift from reactive crisis management to proactive regulation. Challen

Federalism in India

14 Mar, 26
SHARE

Recently, a high-level committee on Union–State relations submitted its first report to the Government of Tamil Nadu. The report examines the distribution of powers and responsibilities between the Union and the States, highlighting ongoing debates regarding the balance between central authority and state autonomy. This discussion is clos

India–UAE Economic Partnership

14 Mar, 26
SHARE

The relationship between India and the United Arab Emirates has evolved from a traditional energy-based partnership into a comprehensive economic and strategic relationship. Over the years, strong political trust, growing trade, and expanding investments have transformed bilateral ties into a diversified economic corridor. The economic partnership