EC set to buy next generation tamper proof EVMs

Election Commission is set to buy next generation Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) that become inoperable the moment attempts are made to tinker with it. 

In a written reply in the Rajya Sabha on Friday, the Minister of State for Law PP Chaudhary said the 'M3'-type EVMs are also equipped with a self-diagnostic system for authentication of genuineness of the machines. These will come with a public key interface-based mutual authentication system. 

The Law Ministry has said around 1,940 crore rupees will be required to procure the new machines which are



likely to be introduced by 2018. He said the Election Commission has decided to replace more than 9 lakh 30 thousand EVMs purchased before 2006 as the older machines are nearing their 15-year life cycle.

Last year, Cabinet had approved a fresh tranche of more than one thousand crore rupees for the Election Commission to buy new EVMs so that it can phase out the ageing ones before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.The Cabinet had also authorised the Election Commission to vary the quantity to be ordered on BEL and ECIL based on their production capacity and past performance.