A P J Abdul Kalam bats for E-elections to bring transparency

NEW DELHI: Imagine voters having mobile phones using a secured and an authentic app to vote for the candidate of their choice in their constituency!

This is what former President A P J Abdul Kalamvisualises for implementing a transparent system for elections in the country in his new book " A Manifesto for Change".

 this book, which is a sequel to "India 2020", Kalam, writing with co-author V Ponraj, examines the requirements of India to become a developed country by 2020.

"A Manifesto for Change", published by HarperCollins India, is the result of five years of Kalam's research on our parliamentary system.

He says a new, independent Lokpal bill (not in the present form) empowering an independent CVC, independent CBI, and independent special court with a checks and balance mechanism built-in to deal with corruption cases with constitutional authority status similar to that of the Election Commission are the need of the hour.

Advocating for E-elections, the country's 11th President writes, "I visualise an election scenario in which a candidate files his nomination from a particular constituency.

Immediately, the election officer verifies his or her authenticity using the national citizen ID (UIDAI/National Population Register ID/any other citizen ID) database.

"His or her civic status is reflected by the crime record with the police. His property record comes from the land authority; income and wealth sources from the income tax department; education credentials from university records; employment record from various employers; credit history from various credit institutions like banks; and legal records from the judicial system."

All these details will then automatically show up on the election officer's computer screen within a few minutes, thanks to an e-governance software which scans state and central government directories, Kalam says.

"The election officer immediately decides on the candidate's eligibility, and the election process starts. During the election, voters having mobile phone with their national ID can use a secured and authentic election mobile app to vote for the candidate of their choice in their constituency, besides the option of going to a polling booth," he suggests.

He then poses a series of questions. "Is such a system possible? If so, when will it turn to reality? Will the political parties believe in such an advanced system? Will the bureaucrats allow it to be implemented?"

He feels as far as the technology goes, this is feasible. "It is for the leadership to have the courage to implement such a transparent system for elections, which will attract 100 per cent voting and reduce the pitfalls in the election system. Also, this would only be a starting point. We would need to replicate such systems across the board," he claims.

"Can we provide good governance to our one billion people? Can such governance speed up the delivery system? Can it differentiate between genuine and spurious transactions? Can it ensure immediate action in genuine cases such that all standards of quality on a checklist are met? Can the cost be affordable for our nation? If we implement such a system, I will call it a true e-governance system," he writes.

He also asks politicians to leave behind politics of antagonism and disruption.

He says during the last six decades of our parliamentary democracy, it is the political leadership that has made this country great through its visionary politics.

In the chapter, "Manifesto for State Assemblies", Kalam analyses the performance of the government in all the big and small states and says it depends on the leadership provided by the chief minister.

"If he or she has a vision for the state, with able ministers and with the help of right bureaucrats to implement change, the state can get on to the fast track of growth. Whichever states are blessed with such leadership have shown enormous achievements in attracting investment, improving energy and road infrastructure, providing easy access to government services, better healthcare, reducing crime and other indicators of development," the book says.

Kalam, however, says people not only look at the extent of development to re-elect a government but also give weightage to how easily accessible political leaders are in at least hearing their grievances.

"They expect minimum level of transparency in the administration, and expect a high level of integrity," he says.

सत्ता धारी किस काम के? जब कर्ज से ही विकास दिखाना बीजेपी को?

9000000000000000÷1000000000
=90,00000 लाख ₹
यदि रेलवे को इतना पैसा एक अरब लोग भी देंगे तो भी नब्बे लाख ₹ देने होंगे प्रत्येक व्यक्ति को मतलब सब झूठ है। देश को बेचने व् गुलाम बनाने की तैयारी हो रही है।
दुनिया भर की आबादी को क्या पड़ी है की भारत में चलकर ₹ लगाए ??? भारत की आबादी 1अरब 20 करोड़ है जिसमे से एक अरब जो 90 लाख रुपया दे सकते है क्या वे यदि भारतीय है तो कहाँ है? जो की 1लाख 50हजार ₹ हर महीने 5साल तक दे तब रेल चलेगी जैसी मूड़ी सरकार बोलती है रेल बजट में।
इसमें यदि विदेशी है तो कोन?

बजट 2014-2015 मोदी सरकार!

●PM on Union Budget

"This is a Budget that converts hopes and aspirations of the people into trust; new ray of hope for the poor and downtrodden" 
"The Budget will give an impetus to Jan Bhagidari (people’s participation) and Jan Shakti (people's power)" 
"We are going in the right direction to overcome challenges faced in last decade"
PM congratulates Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley on presenting his maiden Budget

 The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi termed the Budget as a Budget that converts hopes and aspirations of the people into trust. The Prime Minister expressed confidence that the Budget will take India to newer heights of progress and stated, “This Budget is a new ray of hope for the poor and downtrodden sections of society.”

Congratulating the Union Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley for his maiden budget, the Prime Minister said, “The Budget will give an impetus to Jan Bhagidari (people’s participation) and Jan Shakti (people's power).” He described the Budget as an effort to make India skilled and digital, guided by the usage of the latest technology.

 He said that for the moribund economy, this budget has come as a Sanjeevani (new life) and an Arunoday (sunrise) for the last man in the line. The Prime Minister said development should be all-encompassing ("samaveshak, sarvadeshak, sarvasparshi") and should also reach those parts of the country which have so far remained underdeveloped.

Shri Modi assured the people of India that the Government is leaving no stone unturned in doing their duty to develop India and rid the nation from the challenges it faces. He recalled how the entire world had immense expectations from India but how in the last decade the entire economic system crumbled due to which not only India but also the world lost hope and there was an atmosphere of pessimism.

Talking about the new Government's efforts, the PM said, “Since we formed the Government there were discussions about whether this Government can free the nation from crisis but the Railway Budget and today’s General Budget show that we are moving in the right direction.”

The PM categorically stated that despite the testing times, his Government is committed to extend every possible help to the poor, the neo-middle class and the middle class, inspired by the mantra of ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas.’

Shri Modi talked about the innovative provisions in the Budget for the development of tribal communities and schemes for giving an impetus to skill development for youth. “The Budget is in line with the Government’s vision to create a skilled and digital India,” Shri Modi said.

He elaborately talked about the measures for the farmers such as Krishi Sinchai Yojana that would benefit farmers and achieve the guiding principle of ‘per drop, more crop.’ He particularly mentioned the provisions in the Budget for the cleaning of the Ganga.

The PM pointed that the Budget will give a ray of hope to the housewife who is being burdened by rising prices and will place utmost importance to women empowerment and girl's education.

He reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to make India self-reliant in the defence sector.

The Prime Minister said his Government was committed and confident of bringing India out of crisis. And this confidence was due to the capabilities and strength of 125 crore Indians. He said this strength would be channeled towards taking the country to new heights.
●Statement by Shri Rajnath Singh on Union Budget 

said that the Union Budget 2014-15 presented today by the Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley has successfully captured the imagination of the people by addressing their hopes and aspirations. It has defined a roadmap for ‘New Vibrant India’. 

The Home Minister said that exhibiting an appetite for change, the Union Budget provides an enabling framework to realise the true potential of Indian economy. In a clear move to achieve fiscal consolidation and economic recovery, the Budget has made many concrete announcements. Schemes like 'Skill India' announced in the Budget will boost the confidence of India's youth and create massive job opportunities in the country, Shri Singh added. 

Shri Rajnath Singh said that the 'Pradhan Mantri Gram SinchaiYojana’ designed to provide irrigation facilities in rain-fed areas will not only benefit the farmers but also strengthen our food security. The Budget has allocated Rs 500 crores for displaced Kashmiri migrants which will help in expediting the process of relief and rehabilitation in J&K. 

Shri Singh further said that by outlaying Rs 3000 crores for police modernisation, the Budget has highlighted our government's resolve to strengthen the existing police infrastructure in the country. 

The Home Minister stated that the Budget has also proposed to hike the income tax exemption limit from existing Rs 2 Lakhs to Rs 2.5 lakhs which will provide much needed relief to salaried class. 

Shri Rajnath Singh mentioned that by proposing six new ‘Textile Clusters’, the Budget gives boost to Indian textile industries and also create job opportunities. The Budget has also allocated funds to Ganga rejuvenation and river interlinking project which is indeed a welcome step. 

The Budget carries good news for almost every sections of the society be it farmers, youth, businessmen, industrialists, workers, women, SC-STs or even the people with disabilities, the Home Minister mentioned. 

●Dr. Jitendra Singh Thanks Finance Minister for Budget Allocationster

Dr Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions today thanked the Union Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley for financial allocation for the State of Jammu & Kashmir. 

Dr Jitendra Singh conveyed his gratitude on behalf of the people of J&K for, among other things, sanctioning an I.I.T. for Jammu. Dr Jitendra Singh had personally placed a proposal before the HRD Ministry for an I.I.T. in Jammu. 

Talking to media outside the Parliament House, Dr Jitendra Singh observed that Sh Jaitley had adopted a balanced approach not only while allocating funds to different States, but had also tried to strike a balance among the different regions within each State. Citing the example of Jammu & Kashmir, he said, while Jammu had been given an I.I.T., for Kashmir Valley there is a Pashmina promotion allocation and for Ladakh there is provision to promote Solar projects. In addition, both the capital cities of Jammu and Srinagar had been provided funds for upgrading of their respective Sports Stadia. 

Dr Jitendra Singh also thanked the Finance Minister for extra allocation to support pensioners keeping in view that the number of pensioners in the country is now more than the number of serving officials. He also thanked the Finance Minister for funding the Science & Technology projects and the space programme for the launch of satellite voyage to Mars. 

●ACC Appointments

 Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the following appointments: 

(i)Shri Rajiv Gauba, IAS (JH:82), Additional Secretary, Department of Electronics and Information Technology as Additional Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs in the vacancy of Shri K.Skandan, IAS (TN:82). 

(ii)Shri Bhaskar Chandra Khulbe, IAS (WB:83), at present in the cadre, as Additional Secretary, Department of Personnel and Training in the vacancy of Shri J. P. Prakash, IAS (AM:82). 

(iii)Shri Durga Shanker Mishra, IAS (UP:84), Joint Secretary, Ministry of Mines as Additional Secretary, Ministry of Urban Development in the vacancy of Shri D. Diptivilasa, IAS (UP:81) (Retired). 

(iv)Shri Arun Kumar Panda, IAS (OR:84), Joint Secretary, Department of Health and Family Welfare as Additional Secretary, Department of Health and Family Welfare in the vacancy of Ms. Anuradha Gupta, IAS(HY:81). 

(v)Shri Ravi Kant, IAS (BH:84), Joint Secretary, Department of Defence as Additional Secretary, Ministry of Defence in the vacancy of Shri Shankar Agarwal, IAS(UP:80). 

●Emphasis of Budget 2014 in the HRD Sector
Union Budget 2014 has many aspects which would promote education in the country: Union HRD Minister Smriti Irani

 

The Minister feels that:

 

Ø  The focus of the Budget has been on education and skill development. In particular, the Plan Budget of Higher Education has been considerably increased in 2014-15.  In the School Education and Literacy sector also, the increase has been substantial. Overall, the Budget of the Ministry of HRD (Plan & Non-Plan), of both the Departments of Higher Education and Department of School Education & Literacy taken together, will witness an increase of 12.3 per cent from Rs. 74,621 crores in RE 2013-14 to Rs. 83,771 crores.

Ø  The Budget has specially focused on education of girl child which is one of the major priorities of this Government.

Ø  The Budget highlights the resolve to provide the residual one lakh girls toilets and drinking water facilities in schools which will benefit 100 lakh girls in the first phase.  This would enable girls to not only enrol in schools but also stay in schools.  When girls get the needed sanitation facilities in schools, they would demand similar facilities at home, leading to a cleaner India.

Ø  The Beti Bacho Beti Padhao scheme announced in the budget would not only improve the adverse sex ratio but also ensure that girls are educated.

Ø  The Budget has emphasised on gender mainstreaming. The school curriculum will have a separate chapter on gender mainstreaming.  This will sensitise students, teachers and the community at large to be more sensitive to the needs of girl child and women and will promote growth of a more harmonious society.  This will benefit all girls in the country.

Ø  Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya’s Teacher Training Programme has been provided Rs.500 crore in the budget. This would enable the Government to better train students who aspire to become teachers in our professional colleges.  This will improve the quality of teachers that we would produce and will ultimately lead to improvement in learning outcomes of the students in our school system.  This will benefit nearly 20,000 teacher trainees studying in Teacher Education Institutions.

Ø  The Budget provides for madarsa modernisation.  An additional amount of Rs.100 crore has been provided for this.  The madarsa modernisation would enable 10 lakh Muslim children to get education of national standards which is certified through the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS). This would enable Muslim students to progress to higher education or vocational education depending on their choice.

Ø  The Budget provides for Rs.30 crore for School Assessment Programme. The assessment of the quality of schools through various parameters, such as levels of student learning outcomes, quality of teaching by teachers etc., and public display of such school performance would enable parents to make a more informed choice about schools.   This will ultimately benefit all children, parents and stakeholders.

Ø  The Budget has announced support to States to set up 15 braille presses.  This would allow publishing of Braille books that would help our visually challenged students.

Ø  The Budget provides for Rs.28635 crore for SSA and Rs.4966 crore for RMSA. This would strengthen the elementary and secondary school infrastructure in the country and will improve access and quality of education across the school sector and will benefit nearly 23 crore children in schools.  

Ø  The announcement of 5 IITs, 5 IIMs and the National Centre for Himalayan Studies in Uttarakhand in the Budget speech is a welcome step. The new IITs would come up in Jammu, Chhattisgarh, Kerala, Goa and Andhra Pradesh. The new IIMs would be established in Himachal Pradesh, Bihar, Punjab, Maharashtra and Odisha. A provision of Rs. 500 crores has been made for the new IITs and IIMs in the Budget.

Ø  Setting up virtual classrooms and Massive Open Online Courses are planned for which a provision of Rs.100 crore has made in the Budget.   A national e-library will also be created which will be a repository for all educational resources.

 

Ø  The Budget proposes the setting up of Lok Nayak Jai Prakash National Centre for Excellence in Humanities to be set up in Madhya Pradesh– a first of its kind initiative.

The Minister was of the view that the budgetary announcements reflected the developmental strategy of the Government and its mandate of “Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas”.

●Rs. 100 Crore for Development of Organic Farming and Rs. 1000 Crore for Development of Rail Connectivity in the North Eastern Region
Rs. 100 Crore for Development of Organic Farming and Rs. 1000 Crore for Development of Rail Connectivity in the North Eastern Region 

The Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley announced some major initiatives for North Eastern States and the States of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana while presenting the General Budget for 2014-15 in Lok Sabha today. In his maiden budget speech FM Shri Jaitley said, Rs. 100 crore is being provided for development of organic farming in North Eastern States in the current financial year. With a growing global demand for organic food, North Eastern States will benefit from development of commercial organic farming, the Minister added. 

The Finance Minister proposed a sum of Rs. 1000 crore for development of rail connectivity in the North Eastern Region over and above the amount provided for in the interim budget. 

Shri Jaitley said, in order to provide a strong platform to rich cultural and linguistic identity of the North-East, a new 24x7 channel called “ArunPrabha” will be launched for the expression of cultural identity and for creating greater awareness of the richness of the diversity of our country. 

The Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley also announced that his Government is committed to addressing the issues relating to development of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana in the AP Re-organization Act, 2014. Provision has been made by various Ministries/Departments to fulfil the obligation of Union Government for both the states.

●Personal Tax Exemption Limit Raised by Rs. 50,000/- ; No Change in the Rate of Surcharge; 15% Investment Allowance to Manufacturing Companies, to Incentivize Small Entrepreneurs and Income from Foreign Portfolio Investors to be Treated as Capital Gains.

The General Budget 2014-15 presented by the Union Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley has raised the personal income-tax exemption limit by Rs. 50,000/- that is, from Rs. 2 lakh to Rs. 2.5 lakh in the case of individual taxpayers, below the age of 60 years. Exemption limit raised from Rs. 2.5 lakh to Rs. 3 lakh in the case of senior citizens. However there is no change in the rate of surcharge either for the corporates or the individuals, HUFs, firms etc. The budget proposes to continue education cess at 3 percent. 

Investment limit under section 80C of the Income-tax Act has also been raised from Rs. 1 lakh to Rs. 1.5 lakh and Deduction limit on account of interest on loan in respect of self occupied house property raised from Rs.1.5 lakh to Rs.2 lakh. To incentivize small entrepreneurs an Investment allowance at the rate of 15 percent to a manufacturing company that invests more than Rs. 25 crore in any year in new plant and machinery. The benefit to be available for three years i.e. for investments upto31.03.2017. Investment allowance to manufacturing company investing more than Rs.100 crore announced last year to continue in parallel till 31.03.2015. 

To bring greater certainty and to encourage fund manager to shift to India, income arising to foreign portfolio investors from transaction in securities will be treated as capital gains. Concessional rate of 15 percent on foreign dividends without any sunset date will be continued. 

To augment low cost long term foreign borrowings for Indian companies, the eligible date of borrowing in foreign currency has been extended from 31.03.2015 to 31.03.2017 for a concessional tax rate of 5 percent on interest payments. Tax incentive extended to all types of bonds instead of only infrastructure bonds. 

The budget proposes introduction of a “Roll Back” provision in the Advanced Pricing Agreement (APA) scheme so that an APA entered into for future transactions is also applicable to international transactions undertaken in previous four years in specified circumstances.To remove tax arbitrage, rate of tax on long term capital gains has been increased from 10 percent to 20 percent on transfer of units of Mutual funds, other than equity oriented funds. 

60 more Ayakar Seva Kendras will be opened during the current financial year to promote excellence in service delivery. Net effect of the direct tax proposals will result in revenue loss of Rs.22,200 crore.

●Finance Minister Proposes Rs. 200 Crore for Power Reforms and Rs. 500 Crore for Water Reforms to Make Delhi a World Class City

The Union Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley proposes Rs. 200 crore for power reforms and Rs. 500 crore for water reforms to make Delhi a truly World Class City. Making his maiden Budget Speech in Lok Sabha today, the Finance Minister announced that Rs. 50 crore is being provided to solve the long term water supply issues to the capital region. For that construction of long pending Renuka Dam would be taken up on priority, the Minister added. 

For Andaman and Nicobar Island, Shri Jaitley announced that Rs. 150 crore are being provided to tide over communication related problems of the Island. Rs. 188 crore has been set aside for Puducherry for meeting commitments for Disaster preparedness, he added. 

Announcing proposals for Kashmiri people, the Finance Minister highlighted in his budget speech that Rs 500 crore will be provided to support Kashmiri migrants for rebuilding their lives. 

Also in the current financial year, an initial outlay of Rs 100 crore has been provided to set-up a National Centre for Himalayan Studies in Uttarakhand to increase the capacity in the country for Himalayan Studies, the Finance Minister announced. 

Shri Jaitley also announced during his maiden Budget Speech that it is proposed to set up the National Academy for Customs and Excise at Hindupur in Andhra Pradesh. 

●More Services Bought in the Service Tax Net, Indirect Taxes to Yield Rs.7525 Crore 

To broaden the tax base in Service Tax, sale of space or time for advertisements in broadcast media has been extended to cover such sales on other segments like online and mobile advertising. Announcing the tax proposals, the Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley said during his maiden budget speech that sale of space for advertisements in print media however would remain excluded from service tax. However services provided by radio-taxis have been brought under service tax. The Finance Minister said that the tax proposals on the indirect taxes side are estimated to yield Rs.7525 crore during 2014-15. 

The Finance Minister announced that the services by air-conditioned contract carriages and technical testing of newly developed drugs on human participants have been brought under service tax. Services provided by Indian tour operators to foreign tourists in relation to a tour wholly conducted outside India will be taken out of the tax net and Cenvat credit for services of rent-a-cab and tour operators will be allowed to promote tourism. 

Shri Jaitley said that services provided by the Employees’ State Insurance Corporation for the period prior to 1st July 2012 have been exempted from service tax. Exemption available for specified micro insurance schemes has been expanded to cover all life micro-insurance schemes where the sum assured does not exceed Rs.50, 000 per life insured. 

24X7 customs clearance facility will be extended to 13more airports in respect of all export goods and to 14 more sea ports in respect of specified import and export goods to facilitate cargo clearance.‘Indian Customs Single Window Project to facilitate trade will be implemented. 

Customs and Central Excise Acts will be amended to expedite the process of disposal of appeals. The Finance Minister Shri Jaitley said that the Government is committed to implement GST at the earliest and the issues raised by the states will be resolved soon. 

●Budget Estimates for 2014-15 Project Fiscal Deficit of 4.1% and Revenue Deficit of 2.9% of GDP

Gross Tax Receipts of Rs. 13,64,524 Crore Estimated 
Rs. 5,75,000 Crore Plan Expenditure – An Increase of 26.9 Per cent Over Actuals of 2013-14 

The Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley said that the Modi Government has mandate to fulfill for the people provision for the essential items without compromising fiscal consolidation. Making his maiden Budget Speech in Lok Sabha today, the Finance Minister Shri Jaitley announced the Budget estimates with Non-plan Expenditure for the financial year estimated at Rs. 12,19,892 crore with additional provision for fertilizer subsidy and capital expenditure for Armed forces. 

Rs.5,75,000 crore have been allocated towards Plan expenditure, marking an increase of 26.9 per cent over actuals of 2013-14 (Rs. 4,53,085 crore). Plan increase is targeted towards agriculture, capacity creation in health and education, rural roads and National Highways Infrastructure, railways network expansion, clean energy initiatives, development of water resources and river conservation plans, the Finance Minister added. 

Total expenditure estimates thus stands at Rs.17,94,892 crore. To finance this expenditure, Gross Tax receipts of Rs. 13,64,524 crore have been estimated. In his maiden Budget Speech Shri Jaitley said that the net share of centre will be Rs. 9,77,258 crore. Non Tax Revenue for the current financial year will be Rs. 2,12,505 crore and capital receipts other than borrowings will be Rs. 73,952 crore. 

Thus, Fiscal deficit will be 4.1 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and Revenue deficit will be 2.9 per cent of GDP, Shri Jaitley added. 

The Finance Minister recalled in his Budget Speech that the previous NDA Government under Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee, had initiated a compulsory non-lapsable 10 per cent allocation of plan funds for North Eastern Region. Shri Arun Jaitley said that from the current Budget a New Statement will separately show plan allocation made for North Eastern Region. In the current financial year, an allocation of Rs. 53,706 crore has been made for North Eastern Region. 

He announced an allocation of Rs. 98,030 crore for women and of Rs. 81,075 crore for children welfare in General Budget 2014-15 presented in Lok Sabha today. 

●Basic Custom Duties Reduced on Certain Items to Encourage Investment and Domestic Production

To boost domestic manufacture and to address the issue of inverted duties, the General budget 2014-15 has reduced basic customs duty (BCD) on certain items. To encourage new investment and capacity addition in the chemicals and petrochemicals sector, basic customs duty has been reduced. This was announced by the Union Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley while making his maiden Budget speech in Lok Sabha here today. The Finance Minister said that steps have been taken to boost domestic production of electronic items and reduce our dependence on imports. These includes imposition of basic customs duty on certain items outside the purview of IT Agreement, exemption for inputs/components in PC manufacturing from SAD, imposition of education cess on imported electronic products for parity etc. 

Colour picture tubes have been exempted from basic customs duty to make cathode ray TVs cheaper and more affordable to weaker sections.To encourage production of LCD and LED TVs below 19 inches in India, basic customs duty on LCD and LED TV panels of below 19 inches has been reduced from 10 percent to Nil. 

To give an impetus to industry, the finance Minister said that the basic customs duty on imported flat-rolled products of stainless steel increased from 5 percent to 7.5 percent, Concessional basic customs duty of 5 percent extended to machinery and equipment required for setting up of a project for solar energy production, he added. 

The budget proposes reduction in the basic customs duty from 10 percent to 5 percent on forged steel rings, used in the manufacture of bearings of wind operated electricity generators. Concessional basic customs duty of 5 percent has been proposed on machinery and equipment required for setting up of compressed biogas plants (Bio-CNG). 

Basic customs duty on metallurgical coke has been increased from Nil to 2.5 percent in line with the duty on coking coal. 

The budget proposes increase in duty free entitlement for import of trimmings, embellishments and other specified items from 3 percent to 5 percent of the value of their export for readymade garments. 

Export duty on bauxite increased from 10 percent to 20 percent. For passenger facilitation, free baggage allowance has been increased from Rs.35,000 to Rs.45,000. 

To incentivize expansion of processing capacity, excise duty on specified food processing and packaging machinery has been reduced from 10 percent to 6 percent. 

Concessional excise duty of 2 percent without Cenvat benefit and 6 percent with Cenvat benefit on sports gloves and the excise duty has been increased from 12 percent to 16 percent on pan masala, from 50 percent to 55 percent on unmanufactured tobacco and from 60 percent to 70 percent on gutkha and chewing tobacco and also levy0 an additional duty of excise at 5 percent on aerated waters containing added sugar. 

To finance Clean Environment initiatives, the Clean Energy Cess has been increased from Rs.50 per tonne to Rs.100 per tonne. 

●Energy Sector given due Importance in Budget 2014-15
Energy Sector given due Importance in Budget 2014-15 
Ultra-Modern Super Critical Coal Based Thermal Power Technology Scheme to be Launched 
Measures Taken to Provide Adequate Quantity of Coal to Power Plants 
Ultra Mega Solar Power Projects to be Set Up 

           

The Union Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley, while presenting the General Budget 2014-15 in Parliament today, has announced several initiatives for strengthening energy sector.

 

Power

The Finance Minister has proposed to allocate an initial sum of Rs. 100 crore for preparatory work for a new scheme “Ultra-Modern Super Critical Coal Based Thermal Power Technology” to promote cleaner and more efficient thermal power.

 

Coal

            The Finance Minister Shri Jaitley also announced comprehensive measures for enhancing domestic coal production with a stringent mechanism for quality control and environmental protection. Measures will be initiated to provide adequate quantity of coal to power plants which are already commissioned or would be commissioned by March, 2015 to unlock dead investments.

 

New & Renewable Energy

 

The Finance Minister Shri Jaitley has proposed to take up Ultra Mega Solar Power Projects in Rajasthan, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Laddakh in J&K. A sum of Rs. 500 crore is allocated for this purpose. He also allocated a sum of Rs. 400 crore for launching a scheme for Solar Power driven agricultural pump sets and water pumping stations. An additional amount of Rs. 100 core is set aside for the development of 1 MW Solar Parks on the banks of canals. Implementation of Green Energy Corridor Projects will be accelerated in this financial year to facilitate evacuation of renewable energy across the country.

 

Petroleum & Natural Gas

 

The Finance Minister has announced the initiation to accelerate production and exploitation of Coal Bed Methane reserves. The possibility of using modern technology to revive old or closed wells will also be explored to maximize the production.

 

The Finance Minister Shri Jaitley stated that the usage of Piped Natural Gas will be rapidly scaled-up in a mission mode as it is clean and efficient to deliver.

●Rs 100 Crore Allocated for Technology Development Fund
Rs 100 Crore Allocated for Technology Development Fund 

An initial sum of Rs 1,00 crore has been allocated to set up a technology development fund to provide necessary resources to public and private sector companies, including SMEs, as well as academic and scientific institutions to support research and development of Defence systems that enhance cutting-edge technology capability in the country. Making this announcement while presenting the General Budget in Lok Sabha today, the Union Finance Minister said that in the year 2011, a separate fund was announced for this purpose but beyond the announcement, no action was taken. 

●All Households to be Provided with Banking Services
All Households to be Provided with Banking Services 

Banks to be Encouraged to Extend Long Term Loans to Infrastructure Sector 

RBI to Create A Framework for Licensing Small Banks 

Six New Debt Recovery Tribunals to be Set up 

A Financial Inclusion Mission will be launched from Independence Day this year as a time bound programme to provide all households in the country with banking services. This was announced by the Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley while presenting the General Budget 2014-15 in Lok Sabha here today. Shri Jaitley said that this step would particularly focus to empower the weaker sections of the society, including women, small and marginal farmers and labourers. He said two bank accounts in each household are proposed to be opened. 

The Finance Minister said long term financing for infrastructure has been a major constraint in encouraging larger private sector participation. He said on the assets side, banks will be encouraged to extend long term loans to infrastructure sector with flexible structuring to absorb potential adverse contingencies, sometimes known as the 5/25 structure. Shri Jaitley said on liability side, banks will be permitted to raise long term funds for lending to infrastructure sector with minimum regulatory pre-emption such as CRR, SLR and Priority Sector Lending. 

The Union Finance Minister said that after making suitable changes to current framework, a structure will be put in place for continuous authorization of universal banks in the private sector in the current financial year. He said RBI will create a framework for licensing small banks and other differentiated banks. Shri Jaitley said differentiated banks serving niche interests, local area banks and payment banks etc. are contemplated to meet credit and remittance needs of small businesses, unorganized sector, low income households, farmers and migrant workforce among others. 

Expressing concerns over the rising Non Performing Assets (NPA) of Public Sector Banks (PSBs) the Union Finance Minister announced setting-up of six new Debt Recovery Tribunals at Chandigarh, Bangaluru, Ernakulum, Dehradun, Silliguri and Hyderabad.

●Institution for Mainstreaming PPPS will be Set-Up
Institution for Mainstreaming PPPS will be Set-Up 
Shipping, Inland Navigation, Airports and Roads Sector Given Priority 

           

The Union Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley, while presenting the General Budget 2014-15 in Parliament today, has proposed to set-up an institution to provide support to mainstreaming PPPs called 3P India with a sum of Rs. 500 crore. The institution will facilitate nuanced and sophisticated models of contracting and developing quick dispute redressal mechanism of PPPs. 

 

Shipping

 

The Finance Minister announced sixteen new port projects to be awarded this year with a focus on port connectivity. An amount of Rs. 11,635 crore will be allocated for the development of Outer Harbour Project in Tuticorin for phase I. SEZs will also be developed in Kandla and JNPT. A comprehensive policy will also be announced to promote Indian ship building industry in the current financial year.

 

Inland Navigation

 

            The Finance Minister Shri Jaitley also announced a project on the river Ganga called ‘Jal Marg Vikas’ (National Waterways-I) to be developed between Allahabad and Haldia to cover a distance of 1620 kms, which will be completed over a period of six years at an estimated cost of Rs. 4,200 crore.

 

New Airports

 

            The Finance Minister has announced a scheme for development of new airports in Tier-I and Tier-II Cities to be launched for implementation through Airport Authority of India or PPPs.

 

Roads

 

            The Finance Minister Shri Jaitley announced an amount of Rs. 37,880 crores for National Highways Authority of India and State Roads, out of which Rs. 3,000 crores will be spent in the North East. He announced that during current financial year, a target of construction of 8500 kms of National Highways will be achieved. He also announced initiation of work on select expressways in parallel to the development of industrial corridors.

●More Funds for War Memorial and National Police Memorial
Announcing the setting-up of a war memorial at Princes Park, New Delhi, the Union Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley said that it will be supplemented by a war museum. Making this announcement while presenting his first General Budget in Lok Sabha here today, the Minister allocated a sum of Rs 100 crore for this purpose. Shri Jaitley said that country is deeply indebted to the officers and the jawans of the armed forces for having made huge sacrifices to defend its honour. In doing so, a very large number of them gave up their lives. He said “It is a privilege for the nation to erect a befitting memorial in their memory”. 

The Finance Minister Shri Jaitley also announced the construction of a befitting National Police Memorial and proposed to allocate a sum of Rs 50 crore for this purpose. He said the nation is equally indebted to the officers and the jawans of the police forces, including the central armed police forces, who are constantly engaging with the enemy within and in the process sacrificing their lives in the line of duty. 

●Handlooms Trade Facilitation Centre and Crafts Museum will be Set Up at Varanasi
The Union Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley, while presenting the General Budget 2014-15 in Lok Sabha today, has proposed to provide Rs. 50 crore to set-up a Trade Facilitation Centre and a Crafts Museum to develop and promote handloom products and carry forward the rich tradition of handlooms of Varanasi. 

The Finance Minister has announced to set-up eight Textile Mega Clusters at Varanasi, Bareily, Lucknow, Surat, Kuttch, Bhagalpur, Mysore and one in Tamil Nadu with a sum of Rs. 200 crore. 

The Finance Minister Shri Jaitley proposed to set-up a Hastkala Academy for the preservation, revival and documentation of the handloom/handicraft sector in PPP mode in Delhi with a sum of Rs. 30 crore. He also proposed to start a Pashmina Promotion Programme (P-3) and a programme for the development of other crafts of Jammu & Kashmir with a sum of Rs. 50 crore.

●Defence Allocation Raised to Rs 2,29,000 crore Capital Outlay for Defence Modernization Increased by Rs 5,000 crore 

Allocation for defence in this year’s General Budget has been raised to Rs 2,29,000 crore. Presenting the Union Budget in Lok Sabha today, the Union Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley also proposed a further sum of Rs 1,000 crore to address the pension disparities while implementing the policy of “one rank one pension” for soldiers. 

Emphasizing on the modernization of the armed forces to enable them to play their role effectively in the defence of country’s strategic interests, the Finance Minister also proposed to increase the capital outlay for defence modernization by Rs 5,000 crore over the amount provided for in the interim Budget. This includes a sum of Rs 1,000 crore for accelerating the development of the Railways system in the border areas. He said urgent steps would also be taken to stream line the procurement process to make it speedy and more efficient

●Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Sector will be Revamped
Technology Centre Network to be Established 

The Union Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley while presenting the General Budget 2014-15 in Parliament today said that the financial structure of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector, mainly owned or run by SCs, STs and OBCs which is of critical importance, has to be strengthened. For this purpose, he proposed to appoint a committee with representatives from Finance Ministry, Ministry of MSME and RBI to give concrete suggestions in three months. 

The Finance Minister stated that the promotion of entrepreneurship and start-up companies remains a challenge. In order to create a conducive eco system for the venture capital in the MSME, he proposed to establish a Rs. 10,000 crore fund to act as a catalyst to attract private Capital by way of providing equity, quasi equity, soft loans and other risk capital for start-up companies. 

The Finance Minister also announced to establish Technology Centre Network to promote innovation, entrepreneurship and agro-industry. He proposed in the Budget to set-up a corpus fund of Rs. 200 crore. The Finance Minister has announced to develop an entrepreneur friendly legal bankruptcy framework for SMEs to enable easy exit. He said that a nationwide “District level Incubation and Accelerator Programme” would be taken up for incubation of new ideas and providing necessary support for accelerating entrepreneurship. 
●Allocation for Modernization of State Police Forces Raised to Rs 3,000 crore
A sum of Rs 2,250 crore Allocated to Strengthen and Modernize Border Infrastructure 

The Union government has raised the allocation for modernization of state police forces from Rs 1,847 crore in the BE of 2013-14 to Rs 3,000 crore in the current financial year. While presenting the General Budget in Lok Sabha today, the Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley said that scheme for modernization for State police forces would be reviewed. He said “I am also allocating adequate funds for carrying out small but much needed developmental activities as Additional Central Assistance for Left Wing Extremist Affected districts. 

The Finance Minister also an announced allocation of a sum of Rs 2,250 crore to strengthen and modernize border infrastructure. Shri Jaitley said in addition, a sum of Rs 990 crore has been allocated for the socio economic development of the villages along the borders. He said a sum of Rs 150 crore has also been ear-marked for the construction of Marine Police Station, Jetties and purchase of boats etc. 

●Special Economic Zones will be Strengthened
The Union Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley while presenting the General Budget 2014-15 in Parliament today, has announced that the Government is committed to revive the Special Economic Zones (SEZs) and make them effective instruments of industrial production, economic growth, export promotion and employment generation. 

The Finance Minister stated that effective steps would be undertaken to operationalize SEZs to revive investors’ interest to develop better infrastructure and to effectively and efficiently use the available unutilized land.
●National Industrial Corridor Authority to be Set-Up
Export Promotion Mission to be Set-Up 

The Union Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley while presenting his first Budget in Parliament today, announced that a National Industrial Corridor Authority, with its headquarter in Pune, is being set-up with an amount of Rs. 100 crore, to coordinate the development of industrial corridors with smart cities linked to transport connectivity. The Finance Minister has also announced that the Amritsar Kolkata Industrial Master Planning will be completed expeditiously for the establishment of Industrial Smart cities in seven States in this corridor. 

The Finance Minister said that the Master planning of three new smart cities in the Chennai-Bengaluru Industrial Corridor region, viz., Ponneri in Tamil Nadu, Krishnapatnam in Andhra Pradesh and Tumkur in Karnataka will also be completed. The perspective plan for the Bengaluru Mumbai Economic Corridor (BMEC) and Vizag-Chennai corridor would be completed with the provision for 20 new industrial clusters. 

The Finance Minister said that Kakinada, its adjoining areas and the port will be developed as the key drivers of economic growth in Andhra Pradesh with a special focus on hardware manufacturing. 

The Finance Minister Shri Jaitley urged the States to play an active role in export promotion by providing good infrastructure and full facilitation. He proposed to establish an Export Promotion Mission to bring all stakeholders under one umbrella. 

●Reforms in the Food Sector will be Taken up on Priority

●Measures to Increase Investment and Credit Flow into Agriculture Sector
●Technology Driven Second Green Revolution with Focus on "Protein Revolution"
●Rs.200 Crores Allocated For The Statue Of Unity
●National Adaptation Fund to be Established for Climate Change
●Deendayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana
●Shyama Prasad Mukherji Rurban Mission
●Soil Health Card Scheme for Every Farmer
●Swatchh Bharat Abhiyan
●A Dedicated TV Channel 'Kisan TV' to be Launched for Farmers
●Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana
●2 Agriculture Research Institutes in Jharkhand and Assam and Agri-Tech Infrastructure Fund of Rs 100 Crores to be Setup
●Multi Skill Programme - Skill India to be Launched
●Real Estate Investment Trust and Infrastructure Investment Trust to be Incentivised
●Rs. 200 Crore Set Aside in the Current Financial Year for Developing World Class Sports Stadiums in Jammu and Kashmir;
●Kisan Vikas Patra (KVP) Re-Introduced
●Rs. 500 Crore Set Aside in the Current Financial Year to Create Five Tourist Circuits;
●Several Steps Announced to Promote Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Select Sectors
●Finance Minister Sets Up an Integrated Ganga Conservation Mission 'Namami Gange' with an Outlay of Rs. 2037 Crore;
●E-Visa to be Introduced at Nine Airports
●Pending Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill to be Tabled in Parliament Soon; FM
●Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) to Invest Rs.2,47,941 Crores in the Current Fiscal
●Welfare of Girl Child on Upmost Priority of the Government: FM
●Capital of Public Sector Banks to be Raised Through Sale of Shares
●Enactment of Indian Financial Code Necessary for Better Governance and Accountability: FM
●Higher Budgetary Allocations have been Made for Rural Road and Water Sectors
●Allocation of Rs. 7060 Crores for Smart Cities
●Government Reiterates Its Commitment to the Welfare of SCs & STs
●Legislative and Administrative Changes Proposed to Reduce ●Litigation in Direct Taxes
●Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao Yojana Launched
●Digital India Programme Launched to Bridge the Divide Between HAVES and HAVE - NOTS
●Fresh Cases Arising Out of Retrospective Amendments of 2012 to be Scrutinised by High Level Committee:FM
●Government to Constitute an Expenditure Management Commission to Look into Various Aspects of Expenditure Reforms:FM
●Five New IITs and Five New IIMS will be Set Up in the States
●Target of Fiscal Deficit of 4.1 Per Cent for 2014-15
●Government Attaches Top Priority for Free Drug and Diagnosis Services to Achieve the Goal of Health for All
●Housing for All by 2022
●Government to Spend 50,000 Crore Rupees for Development of Urban Areas
●Government Committed to Achieve Fiscal Deficit of 4.1% for 2014-15
●Textiles Minister Welcomes Union Budget as Forward-Looking
●Global crude oil price of Indian Basket decreased to US$ 106.39 per bbl on 09.07.2014
●Digital India Programme Launched to Bridge the Divide Between HAVES and HAVE-NOTS
●Agriculture Gets Pride of Place for The First Time in Union Budget: Agriculture Minister
●"Youth bulge not forever, let's harness dividend now"
●NIESBUD Web Portal Designed for the Unemployed Skilled Persons
●Transformative Budget, with Emphasis on Investment -Led Growth : Shri Piyush Goyal

Vulnerability Assessment and Penetration Testing (VAPT)

सुप्रीम कोर्ट का निर्णय 10-8-2013 http://judis.nic.in/supremecourt/imgst.aspx?filename=40874

VAPT SYSTEM लगाये EC.

17-1-2012 को सुब्रमणियम स्वामी ने याचिका दाखिल की।
2009 के चुनाव की हार के बाद Delhi in W.P.(C) No. 11879 of 2009 बीजेपी का case ख़ारिज कर दिया था।

जिसके बाद बीजेपी जुटगई  VAPT

Vulnerability Assessment and Penetration Testing (VAPT)
romanparade's version from 3-31-2010

Question
1.Scope
Answer
While performing assessments and tests, the scope of the assignment needs to be clearly defned. The scope is based on the assets to be tested. The following are the three possible scopes that exist: 1.Black Box Testing: Testing from an external network with no prior knowledge of the internal networks and systems. 2.Gray Box Testing: Testing from an external or internal network, with knowledge of the internal networks and systems. This is usually a combination of black box testing and white box testing. 3.White Box Testing: Performing the test from within the network with the knowledge of the network architecture and the systems. This is also referred to as internal testing.

Question
2.Information Gathering
Answer
The process of information gathering is to obtain as much information as possible about the IT environment such as networks, IP addresses, operating system version, etc. This is applicable to all the three types of scope as discussed earlier.

Question
3.Vulnerability Detection
Answer
In this process, tools such as vulnerability scanners are used, and vulnerabilities are identifed in the IT environment by way of scanning.

Question
4.Information Analysis and PlanningThis process is used to analyze the identifed
Answer
vulnerabilities, combined with the information gathered about the IT environment, to devise a plan for penetrating into the network and systems.

Question
5.Penetration
Answer
TestingIn this process, the target systems are attacked and penetrated using the plan devised in the earlier process.

Question
6.Privilege Escalation
Answer
After successful penetration into the system, this process is used to identify and escalate access to gain higher privileges, such as root access or administrative access to the system.

Question
7.Result Analysis
Answer
This process is useful for performing a root cause analysis as a result of a successful compromise to the system leading to penetration, and devise suitable recommendations in order to make the system secure by plugging the holes in the system.

Question
8.Reporting
Answer
All the fndings that are observed during the vulnerability assessment and penetration testing process need to be documented, along with the recommendations, in order to produce the testing report to the management for suitable actions.

Question
9.Cleanup
Answer
Vulnerability assessment and penetration testing involves compromising the system, and during the process, some of the fles may be altered. This process ensures that the system is brought back to the original state, before the testing, by cleaning up (restoring) the data and fles used in the target machines.

http://judis.nic.in/supremecourt/imgst.aspx?filename=40874 
                                                      REPORTABLE

 IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA

 CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION

1
2
3 CIVIL APPEAL NO.9093 OF 2013

4 (Arising out of SLP (Civil) No. 13735 of 2012)

Dr. Subramanian Swamy                   .... Appellant(s)

            Versus

Election Commission of India                 .... Respondent(s)

                                    WITH

WRIT PETITION (C) NO. 406 OF 2012

                   J U D G M E N T

P. Sathasivam, CJI.
1)    Leave granted.
Civil Appeal @ SLP (C) No. 13735 of 2012
2)     This  appeal  is  directed  against  the  judgment  and  order  dated
17.01.2012 passed by the Division Bench of the High Court of  Delhi  at  New
Delhi in W.P.(C) No. 11879 of 2009 whereby the High Court  disposed  of  the
petition by  disallowing  the  prayer  made  by  the  appellant  herein  for
issuance of a writ of mandamus directing the Election  Commission  of  India
(ECI)-Respondent herein  to  incorporate  a  system  of  “paper  trail/paper
receipt” in the Electronic Voting Machines  (EVMs)  as  a  convincing  proof
that the EVM has rightly registered the vote cast by a voter in favour of  a
particular candidate.
3)    Being aggrieved of the above, the present appeal  has  been  filed  by
way of special leave.
Writ Petition (Civil) No. 406 of 2012
4)    One Rajendra Satyanarayan Gilda has filed this  Writ  Petition,  under
Article 32 of the Constitution of India, praying for issuance of a  writ  of
mandamus/direction(s) directing the  Union  of  India,  the  Chief  Election
Commissioner and the Technical Experts Committee-Respondent Nos. 1-3  herein
respectively to effect the necessary modifications in  the  EVMs  so  as  to
allow the voters  to  verify  their  respective  votes  and  to  attach  the
printers to the EVMs with a facility to print  the  running  record  of  the
votes for the purpose of verification  by  the  voters  in  the  process  of
voting.  He also prayed for a direction to frame guidelines  and  to  effect
necessary amendments in the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961.
5)    In view of the pendency of the appeal filed by Dr. Subramanian  Swamy,
this Court issued notice in the writ  petition  and  tagged  with  the  said
appeal.
6)    Heard Dr. Subramanian Swamy, appellant-in-person in  the  appeal,  Dr.
R.R. Deshpande, learned counsel for the writ  petitioner,  Mr.  Ashok  Desai
and Ms. Meenakshi Arora, learned senior counsel for the ECI.
Contentions:
7)    Dr. Subramanian Swamy, the  appellant  herein  contended  before  this
Court that the present system of EVMs, as utilized in the last  few  general
elections in India, does not meet all the requirements of the  international
standards and though the ECI maintains that  the  EVMs  cannot  be  tampered
with, but the fact is that EVMs, like all electronic  equipments,  are  open
to hacking.
8)    The appellant has further highlighted that the instant  matter  arises
out of the refusal of the ECI to incorporate a certain obvious safeguard  in
the EVMs called “paper backup”, “paper receipt” or “paper trail”,  presently
in use and mandated in some countries  like  USA,  which  would  easily  and
cheaply meet the requirement of proof that the EVM  has  rightly  registered
the vote cast by a voter.  The appellant has further  highlighted  that  the
“paper trail” system is to supplement the procedure of  voting  as  in  this
procedure, after recording a vote in the EVM, a  print  out  will  come  out
which will appraise the voter that his vote has been rightly registered  and
the same will be deposited in a box which can only be used  by  the  ECI  in
case of election dispute.
9)    It is the categorical stand of  the  appellant  that  the  above  said
system will bring more accuracy in the present system and  if  a  particular
election is  challenged  on  the  ground  that  some  particular  identified
voter’s voter or the votes of a group of voters  have  been  suppressed/have
not been correctly assigned by the EVMs, the accepted current  procedure  is
for a re-run of the same  EVMs  for  a  re-count,  however,  under  the  new
procedure, a re-count will be of the receipts in the ballot  box  containing
the printouts the EVMs  had  issued  to  the  voter  thereby  ensuring  more
transparency in the process.
10)   The writ petitioner has also raised similar contentions  as  those  of
Dr. Swamy.  According to the petitioner, in the  present  system  of  voting
through EVMs, there is no such facility by which  a  voter  can  verify  and
confirm his own voting.  At present, a  voter  presses  a  button  only  but
cannot ascertain the actual voting.  He is not  sure  whether  his  vote  is
recorded or not, if recorded, whether  it  is  recorded  in  favour  of  the
person to whom it was intended or not.  Whether it is valid or  invalid  and
whether it is counted or not.   It  is  submitted  by  the  petitioner  that
unless and until answers to these  questions  are  personally  seen  by  the
voter, it cannot be said that voting is made  by  him  because  “pressing  a
button of choice and getting flashed the red-light” is not actual voting  in
real  sense  unless  the  voter  knows  well  that  what  has  happened   in
consequence of pressing a button of his choice from the EVMs.
Stand of the Election Commission of India:
11)   Mr. Ashok Desai, learned senior counsel for  the  ECI  submitted  that
the apprehension that EVMs could be tampered with is baseless.  It was  also
informed to this Court that the ECI has been exploring  the  possibility  of
incorporating a viable Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) system  as
a part of  the  presently  used  EVMs  to  make  the  election  system  more
transparent.  Further, it was brought to our notice that the  ECI  conducted
field trials for VVPAT system  earlier  also  but  the  same  had  not  been
successful and were discontinued.  The ECI also filed  a  counter  affidavit
stating that the EVMs provided by the Commission are  of  such  a  high  end
technology that it cannot be hacked.
12) Referring to Section 61A of the Representation of the People Act,  1951,
it is submitted that the Statute itself provides for recording of  votes  by
EVMs and the ECI has been given the discretion  to  prescribe  recording  of
votes by such EVMs as it may deem fit.  This discretion has to be  exercised
in a manner to preserve the sanctity of  the  election  process  and  ensure
that the election is conducted in a free  and  fair  manner.   The  ECI  has
exercised due diligence to ensure that EVMs so used are “tamper  proof”  and
it is also in the process of exploring to incorporate VVPAT system which  is
compatible with the present EVMs used by it.  It is asserted that  there  is
no instance of tampering with EVMs so far by anyone.
13)   It is further submitted that the EVMs used in  India  are  unique  and
unlike the ones used in the elections in USA and other countries, which  are
personal computer based.  EVMs deployed by the  ECI  have  been  lauded  not
only in India but also abroad.  EVM’s Control Unit  retains  in  the  memory
each vote recorded elector-wise.  The information stored in  the  memory  of
the Control Unit can be retrieved by using a  device  called  the  “decoder”
which, when attached  to  the  Control  Unit  of  EVM,  can  print  out  the
statement of voting data showing the order in which  each  voter  has  voted
and to whom he has voted.
14)   Insofar as the transparency of the election process  as  well  as  the
right of a voter to know whether his vote has  actually  been  recorded  for
the candidate for whom it was cast is concerned, it  is  submitted  that  as
soon as a vote is recorded by a voter by pressing the  “candidate’s”  button
on the Ballot Unit, a light  glows  against  the  name  and  symbol  of  the
candidate, which the voter can see for himself/ herself.  This is  a  visual
(electronic) assurance to the voter that the candidate for whom he has  cast
his vote has actually got that vote.  Thereafter,  the  light  goes  off  to
protect the secrecy of voting.
15)   It is further submitted that  the  feasibility  of  VVPAT  system  was
sought to be  explored  to  by  various  political  parties  and  they  were
explained  the  technical  and  administrative  safeguards.   The  ECI  also
constituted a Technical Experts Committee to examine the  viability  of  the
VVPAT  system.   On  27.05.2011,  the  Technical  Experts  Committee,  after
discussion with political parties and civil society members and  also  after
seeing the demonstration of the prototype VVPAT  system  developed  by  M/s.
Bharat Electronics Ltd. (BEL) and  M/s.  Electronics  Corporation  of  India
Ltd. (ECIL), recommended that a field test of  the  prototype  VVPAT  system
should be carried out in a simulated election under different  environmental
conditions in Jaisalmer,  Thiruvananthapuram,  Delhi,  Leh  and  Cherapunji.
The ECI also held  further  meetings  with  the  manufacturers  of  EVMs  on
various dates to fine tune the system and  expedite  the  follow  up  action
required.  Several meetings were also held  with  the  Expert  Committee  on
VVPAT system.
16)   In wider fulfillment of the objectives of the  field  trial,  the  ECI
has  requested  the  National  and  State  parties   to   extend   necessary
cooperation by getting involved in  the  trial  process  actively  and  also
witness the trial in order to have a first hand experience  of  the  system.
The ECI has also requested the individuals including  the  appellant  –  Dr.
Subramanian Swamy and the groups, who have been engaged with the ECI on  the
issue of EVM-VVPAT, to witness the trial.
17) We have carefully perused the  relevant  materials  and  considered  the
rival contentions.
Discussion
18)    When  the  matter  was  listed  before  this  Court  for  hearing  on
27.09.2012, Mr. Ashok Desai had brought  to  our  notice  that  the  ECI  is
contemplating foolproof method in EVMs for which  they  are  taking  various
steps in consultation with the Technical Experts Committee and the views  of
all recognized political parties.  Mr. Desai also promised to appraise  this
Court about the deliberations and the ultimate decision to be taken by  them
in this regard.  Accordingly, this Court granted sufficient time to the  ECI
to file Status Report regarding introduction of VVPAT system in EVMs  to  be
used in the elections.
19)   Pursuant to the directions of this  Court,  the  ECI  filed  a  Status
Report on the developments of VVPAT system.  In the said  report,  the  ECI,
citing various technicalities, prayed for further time to  make  the  system
more robust for the field conditions.
20)   On 15.12.2012, M/s BEL, Bangalore filed a report  showing  the  status
of development of  VVPAT  system  which  contains  changes  that  have  been
carried out in VVPAT from September to December,  2012  and  also  furnished
chronological changes made in VVPAT system after  the  field  trial  of  the
VVPAT system held in July and August, 2012.
21)   Pursuant to the directions of this Court, the  Secretary,  ECI,  filed
an affidavit highlighting the following steps/ information:
           “(i)  That vide its Affidavit dated 14.01.2013,  the  Commission
           had filed the status report regarding introduction of the  VVPAT
           system in the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs).
           (ii)  That  subsequently,  in  the  Technical  Expert  Committee
           meeting held on 04.02.2013, the Committee approved the design of
           the VVPAT and decided that software fine tuning will be done and
           completed by the end of  February,  2013,  and  modified  design
           specifications  will  be  submitted  to  the  Technical   Expert
           Committee for approval.
           The Committee also recommended that the Commission may for using
           the VVPAT and that the VVPAT should be tried in a bye-election.
           (iii) That in the Technical Expert  Committee  meeting  held  on
           19.02.2013, the Committee finalized the VVPAT design.
           The manufacturers, namely, M/s. Bharat Electronics  Limited  and
           M/s. Electronics Corporation of India Limited  have  quoted  Rs.
           16,200/- (excluding duties, taxes  and  transport  charges)  per
           VVPAT system.
           The Commission has decided to purchase sufficient units of VVPAT
           for  trials  in  a  Bye-election,  at  an  approximate  cost  of
           Rs.72,90,000/-  (Rupees  seventy  two  lakh   ninety   thousand)
           approximately.
           (iv)   It  is  submitted  that  the  Commission   will   require
           approximately 13 lakh VVPAT units to be manufactures for 13 lakh
           EVMs presently available and roughly about Rs. 1690 crores  (One
           Thousand  Six  Hundred  Ninety  Crores)(i.e.  13  lakh  units  x
           Rs.13,000  per  unit)  are   required   for   the   purpose   of
           implementation of the  VVPAT  system  taking  into  account  the
           possible reduction in the cost per unit when produced in bulk.
           (v)   It is further submitted that in order to implement the new
           system the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961 will require  certain
           amendments.
           In this connection, vide letter No. 3/1/2013/Vol.II/SDR/86 dated
           28.03.2013,  the  Commission  has   informed   the   Legislative
           Department of the Ministry of Law and  Justice  inter  alia  the
           various amendments required to the relevant parts of  Rules  49A
           to 49X, 66A, 55C, 56C, 57C  and  Form  17C  of  the  Conduct  of
           Elections Rules, 1961, as well as introduction of Rules 49MA and
           56D in the said Rules…
           (vi)  That the Commission has called for a meeting  of  all  the
           recognized National and State Parties on 10th May, 2013 for  the
           purpose  of  demonstration  of  VVPAT  unit  to  them  and   for
           discussion with them for eliciting their views regarding use  of
           VVPAT system in the elections.  The petitioner herein and others
           interested in the matter would also be invited at the meeting.”

22)   It is seen from the records that after various deliberations with  the
experts and persons concerned with the  technology,  the  Technical  Experts
Committee approved the final design of VVPAT units in its  meeting  held  on
19.01.2013.  In order to meet the directions of this Court  and  for  proper
execution of VVPAT system, as noticed above, the ECI  in  its  letter  dated
28.03.2013, addressed to the Secretary to the Government of India,  Ministry
of Law and Justice stated that necessary ground work for  amendment  to  the
Conduct of Election Rules, 1961 (in relevant parts  in  Rules  49A  to  49X,
66A, 55C, 56C, 57C and Form 17C) may be made so that the  amendment  to  the
Rules can be notified immediately which will  enable  the  ECI  to  use  the
VVPAT system in bye-elections in consultation with  the  political  parties.
By placing all those materials, the ECI requested the Ministry  of  Law  and
Justice for drafting and notifying amendment Rules expeditiously.
23)   From the materials placed by the ECI, it is noted  that  the  purchase
order has been placed with M/s BEL and M/s ECIL for supplying  150  and  300
VVPAT units respectively at Rs. 16,200/- per  unit  excluding  excise  duty,
sales tax and transportation etc. costing Rs.  72,90,000/-  (approx.).   The
ECI has also highlighted that if the VVPAT  systems  are  ultimately  to  be
used with all the 13 lakh EVMs available, the total cost in the purchase  of
VVPAT units may come to about Rs. 1,690  crores,  taking  into  account  the
possible reduction in the cost per unit due to bulk production the cost  may
come to Rs. 13,000/- per unit approximately.
24)   The affidavit dated 21.08.2013, filed on  behalf  of  the  ECI,  shows
that the Ministry of Law and Justice,  on  24.07.2013,  referred  the  draft
notification to amend the Conduct of Election Rules,  1961  to  provide  for
use of VVPAT system of elections to the ECI  for  its  views  and  comments.
The ECI suggested certain minor modifications in the draft notification  and
sent the same back to the Ministry of Law and Justice on 02.08.2013  with  a
request to notify the amendment Rules at  the  earliest.   Accordingly,  the
Ministry of Law and Justice  notified  the  amendments  to  the  Conduct  of
Election Rules, 1961 in the Gazette of  India  vide  notification  No.  S.O.
2470(E) dated 14.08.2013 to enable use of VVPAT with EVMs.
25)      The aforesaid affidavit of the ECI also  shows  that  the  ECI  had
also convened a meeting of all the recognized National and  State  political
parties on 10.05.2013 and  demonstrated  before  their  representatives  the
working of VVPAT system.  Separately, on the same day, the ECI also  held  a
meeting with  individuals  including  the  appellant  herein  who  had  been
engaged with the ECI over the past several years regarding  the  functioning
of  EVMs.   VVPAT   system   was   demonstrated   before   them   as   well.
Representatives of political parties and other individuals  expressed  their
satisfaction over the VVPAT system.  Thereafter, the ECI had decided to  use
the  VVPAT  system  in  the  bye-election  from  51-Noksen   (ST)   Assembly
Constituency in the State of Nagaland.  Instructions  were  issued  to  hold
special meetings with the contesting  candidates  in  that  constituency  to
brief them about the use of VVPAT system.  The ECI  also  organized  special
training sessions for poll officers for the use  of  VVPAT  and  steps  were
taken to educate the electors for the same.
26)   After various hearings, when the matter was  heard  on  4.10.2013,  an
affidavit dated 01.10.2013 filed on behalf of  the  ECI  was  placed  before
this  Court.   The  said  affidavit  was  filed  to  place  on  record   the
performance/result of the introduction of  the  VVPAT  system  in  the  bye-
election from 51-Noksen (ST) Assembly Constituency  of  Nagaland  for  which
the poll was conducted on 04.09.2013 indicating the future course of  action
to be decided by the  ECI  on  the  basis  of  said  performance.   By  this
affidavit, it was brought to our notice that since VVPAT  system  was  being
used for the first time, the ECI has decided that intensive  training  shall
be given  to  the  polling  officers.   Members  of  the  Technical  Experts
Committee of the ECI also went to supervise training and the actual  use  of
VVPAT in the bye-election.  It is further stated that  the  ECI  also  wrote
letters  to  all  the  recognized  political  parties  and  other   persons,
including the appellant  herein,  engaged  with  the  ECI  on  this  subject
inviting them to witness the use of  VVPAT.   It  is  also  brought  to  our
notice that VVPAT was successfully used in all the 21  polling  stations  of
51-Noksen (ST) Assembly Constituency of Nagaland.  It was also  stated  that
as per the Rules, the paper slips of VVPAT shall  not  be  counted  normally
except  in  case  the  Returning  Officer  decides  to  count  them  on   an
application submitted by  any  of  the  candidates.   However,  since  VVPAT
system was being used for the first time in any election,  the  ECI  decided
on its own to  count  paper  slips  of  VVPAT  in  respect  of  all  polling
stations.  According to the  ECI,  no  discrepancy  was  found  between  the
electronic and paper count.
27)   In the said affidavit, it is finally stated that the ECI  has  decided
to increase the use of VVPAT units in a phased manner and for  this  purpose
the ECI has already written to the Government of India, Ministry of Law  and
Justice to issue administrative and financial sanction  for  procurement  of
20,000 units of VVPAT (10,000 each from M/s BEL and M/s ECIL) costing  about
Rs. 38.01 crore.
28)   Though initially the ECI was little reluctant  in  introducing  “paper
trail” by use of VVPAT, taking note  of  the  advantage  in  the  system  as
demonstrated by Dr. Subramanian Swamy, we issued several directions  to  the
ECI .  Pursuant to the  same,  the  ECI  contacted  several  expert  bodies,
technical advisers, etc.  They also had various meetings with  National  and
State level political parties,  demonstrations  were  conducted  at  various
places and finally after a thorough examination and full  discussion,  VVPAT
was used successfully in all the  21  polling  stations  of  51-Noksen  (ST)
Assembly Constituency of Nagaland.  The information furnished  by  the  ECI,
through the affidavit dated 01.10.2013, clearly shows that VVPAT  system  is
a successful one.  We have already highlighted that VVPAT  is  a  system  of
printing paper trail when the voter casts  his  vote,  in  addition  to  the
electronic record of the ballot, for the  purpose  of  verification  of  his
choice of candidate and also  for  manual  counting  of  votes  in  case  of
dispute.
29)   From the materials placed by both the sides,  we  are  satisfied  that
the  “paper  trail”  is  an  indispensable  requirement  of  free  and  fair
elections.  The confidence of the voters in the EVMs can  be  achieved  only
with the introduction of the “paper trail”.  EVMs with VVPAT  system  ensure
the accuracy  of  the  voting  system.   With  an  intent  to  have  fullest
transparency in the system and to restore the confidence of the  voters,  it
is necessary to set up EVMs with VVPAT system because vote  is  nothing  but
an act of expression which has immense importance in democratic system.
30)   In the light  of  the  above  discussion  and  taking  notice  of  the
pragmatic and reasonable approach of the ECI and considering the  fact  that
in general elections all over India, the ECI has to handle one million  (ten
lakhs) polling booths, we permit the ECI to introduce the  same  in  gradual
stages or geographical-wise in the ensuing  general  elections.   The  area,
State or actual booth(s) are to be decided by the ECI and the  ECI  is  free
to implement the same in a phased manner.  We  appreciate  the  efforts  and
good gesture made by the ECI in introducing the same.
31)   For implementation of such a system (VVPAT) in a  phased  manner,  the
Government of India is directed to  provide  required  financial  assistance
for procurement of units of VVPAT.
32)   Before parting with the case,  we  record  our  appreciation  for  the
efforts made by Dr. Subramanian Swamy as well as the ECI, in particular  Mr.
Ashok Desai and Ms. Meenakshi Arora, learned senior counsel for the ECI.
33)   With the above directions,  the  appeal  and  the  writ  petition  are
disposed of.   No  separate  order  is  required  in  the  applications  for
intervention.  Both sides are permitted to approach this Court  for  further
direction(s), if need arises.

                            ...…………….…………………………CJI

                               (P. SATHASIVAM)

                              .…....…………………………………J.

                              (RANJAN GOGOI)

NEW DELHI;
OCTOBER 8, 2013.
-----------------------
19

सुब्रमणियम स्वामी और EVM case WRIT PETITION (C) NO. 406 OF 2012

                                                                  REPORTABLE

 IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA

 CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION

1
2
3 CIVIL APPEAL NO.9093 OF 2013

4 (Arising out of SLP (Civil) No. 13735 of 2012)

Dr. Subramanian Swamy                   .... Appellant(s)

            Versus

Election Commission of India                 .... Respondent(s)

                                    WITH

WRIT PETITION (C) NO. 406 OF 2012

                   J U D G M E N T

P. Sathasivam, CJI.
1)    Leave granted.
Civil Appeal @ SLP (C) No. 13735 of 2012
2)     This  appeal  is  directed  against  the  judgment  and  order  dated
17.01.2012 passed by the Division Bench of the High Court of  Delhi  at  New
Delhi in W.P.(C) No. 11879 of 2009 whereby the High Court  disposed  of  the
petition by  disallowing  the  prayer  made  by  the  appellant  herein  for
issuance of a writ of mandamus directing the Election  Commission  of  India
(ECI)-Respondent herein  to  incorporate  a  system  of  “paper  trail/paper
receipt” in the Electronic Voting Machines  (EVMs)  as  a  convincing  proof
that the EVM has rightly registered the vote cast by a voter in favour of  a
particular candidate.
3)    Being aggrieved of the above, the present appeal  has  been  filed  by
way of special leave.
Writ Petition (Civil) No. 406 of 2012
4)    One Rajendra Satyanarayan Gilda has filed this  Writ  Petition,  under
Article 32 of the Constitution of India, praying for issuance of a  writ  of
mandamus/direction(s) directing the  Union  of  India,  the  Chief  Election
Commissioner and the Technical Experts Committee-Respondent Nos. 1-3  herein
respectively to effect the necessary modifications in  the  EVMs  so  as  to
allow the voters  to  verify  their  respective  votes  and  to  attach  the
printers to the EVMs with a facility to print  the  running  record  of  the
votes for the purpose of verification  by  the  voters  in  the  process  of
voting.  He also prayed for a direction to frame guidelines  and  to  effect
necessary amendments in the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961.
5)    In view of the pendency of the appeal filed by Dr. Subramanian  Swamy,
this Court issued notice in the writ  petition  and  tagged  with  the  said
appeal.
6)    Heard Dr. Subramanian Swamy, appellant-in-person in  the  appeal,  Dr.
R.R. Deshpande, learned counsel for the writ  petitioner,  Mr.  Ashok  Desai
and Ms. Meenakshi Arora, learned senior counsel for the ECI.
Contentions:
7)    Dr. Subramanian Swamy, the  appellant  herein  contended  before  this
Court that the present system of EVMs, as utilized in the last  few  general
elections in India, does not meet all the requirements of the  international
standards and though the ECI maintains that  the  EVMs  cannot  be  tampered
with, but the fact is that EVMs, like all electronic  equipments,  are  open
to hacking.
8)    The appellant has further highlighted that the instant  matter  arises
out of the refusal of the ECI to incorporate a certain obvious safeguard  in
the EVMs called “paper backup”, “paper receipt” or “paper trail”,  presently
in use and mandated in some countries  like  USA,  which  would  easily  and
cheaply meet the requirement of proof that the EVM  has  rightly  registered
the vote cast by a voter.  The appellant has further  highlighted  that  the
“paper trail” system is to supplement the procedure of  voting  as  in  this
procedure, after recording a vote in the EVM, a  print  out  will  come  out
which will appraise the voter that his vote has been rightly registered  and
the same will be deposited in a box which can only be used  by  the  ECI  in
case of election dispute.
9)    It is the categorical stand of  the  appellant  that  the  above  said
system will bring more accuracy in the present system and  if  a  particular
election is  challenged  on  the  ground  that  some  particular  identified
voter’s voter or the votes of a group of voters  have  been  suppressed/have
not been correctly assigned by the EVMs, the accepted current  procedure  is
for a re-run of the same  EVMs  for  a  re-count,  however,  under  the  new
procedure, a re-count will be of the receipts in the ballot  box  containing
the printouts the EVMs  had  issued  to  the  voter  thereby  ensuring  more
transparency in the process.
10)   The writ petitioner has also raised similar contentions  as  those  of
Dr. Swamy.  According to the petitioner, in the  present  system  of  voting
through EVMs, there is no such facility by which  a  voter  can  verify  and
confirm his own voting.  At present, a  voter  presses  a  button  only  but
cannot ascertain the actual voting.  He is not  sure  whether  his  vote  is
recorded or not, if recorded, whether  it  is  recorded  in  favour  of  the
person to whom it was intended or not.  Whether it is valid or  invalid  and
whether it is counted or not.   It  is  submitted  by  the  petitioner  that
unless and until answers to these  questions  are  personally  seen  by  the
voter, it cannot be said that voting is made  by  him  because  “pressing  a
button of choice and getting flashed the red-light” is not actual voting  in
real  sense  unless  the  voter  knows  well  that  what  has  happened   in
consequence of pressing a button of his choice from the EVMs.
Stand of the Election Commission of India:
11)   Mr. Ashok Desai, learned senior counsel for  the  ECI  submitted  that
the apprehension that EVMs could be tampered with is baseless.  It was  also
informed to this Court that the ECI has been exploring  the  possibility  of
incorporating a viable Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) system  as
a part of  the  presently  used  EVMs  to  make  the  election  system  more
transparent.  Further, it was brought to our notice that the  ECI  conducted
field trials for VVPAT system  earlier  also  but  the  same  had  not  been
successful and were discontinued.  The ECI also filed  a  counter  affidavit
stating that the EVMs provided by the Commission are  of  such  a  high  end
technology that it cannot be hacked.
12) Referring to Section 61A of the Representation of the People Act,  1951,
it is submitted that the Statute itself provides for recording of  votes  by
EVMs and the ECI has been given the discretion  to  prescribe  recording  of
votes by such EVMs as it may deem fit.  This discretion has to be  exercised
in a manner to preserve the sanctity of  the  election  process  and  ensure
that the election is conducted in a free  and  fair  manner.   The  ECI  has
exercised due diligence to ensure that EVMs so used are “tamper  proof”  and
it is also in the process of exploring to incorporate VVPAT system which  is
compatible with the present EVMs used by it.  It is asserted that  there  is
no instance of tampering with EVMs so far by anyone.
13)   It is further submitted that the EVMs used in  India  are  unique  and
unlike the ones used in the elections in USA and other countries, which  are
personal computer based.  EVMs deployed by the  ECI  have  been  lauded  not
only in India but also abroad.  EVM’s Control Unit  retains  in  the  memory
each vote recorded elector-wise.  The information stored in  the  memory  of
the Control Unit can be retrieved by using a  device  called  the  “decoder”
which, when attached  to  the  Control  Unit  of  EVM,  can  print  out  the
statement of voting data showing the order in which  each  voter  has  voted
and to whom he has voted.
14)   Insofar as the transparency of the election process  as  well  as  the
right of a voter to know whether his vote has  actually  been  recorded  for
the candidate for whom it was cast is concerned, it  is  submitted  that  as
soon as a vote is recorded by a voter by pressing the  “candidate’s”  button
on the Ballot Unit, a light  glows  against  the  name  and  symbol  of  the
candidate, which the voter can see for himself/ herself.  This is  a  visual
(electronic) assurance to the voter that the candidate for whom he has  cast
his vote has actually got that vote.  Thereafter,  the  light  goes  off  to
protect the secrecy of voting.
15)   It is further submitted that  the  feasibility  of  VVPAT  system  was
sought to be  explored  to  by  various  political  parties  and  they  were
explained  the  technical  and  administrative  safeguards.   The  ECI  also
constituted a Technical Experts Committee to examine the  viability  of  the
VVPAT  system.   On  27.05.2011,  the  Technical  Experts  Committee,  after
discussion with political parties and civil society members and  also  after
seeing the demonstration of the prototype VVPAT  system  developed  by  M/s.
Bharat Electronics Ltd. (BEL) and  M/s.  Electronics  Corporation  of  India
Ltd. (ECIL), recommended that a field test of  the  prototype  VVPAT  system
should be carried out in a simulated election under different  environmental
conditions in Jaisalmer,  Thiruvananthapuram,  Delhi,  Leh  and  Cherapunji.
The ECI also held  further  meetings  with  the  manufacturers  of  EVMs  on
various dates to fine tune the system and  expedite  the  follow  up  action
required.  Several meetings were also held  with  the  Expert  Committee  on
VVPAT system.
16)   In wider fulfillment of the objectives of the  field  trial,  the  ECI
has  requested  the  National  and  State  parties   to   extend   necessary
cooperation by getting involved in  the  trial  process  actively  and  also
witness the trial in order to have a first hand experience  of  the  system.
The ECI has also requested the individuals including  the  appellant  –  Dr.
Subramanian Swamy and the groups, who have been engaged with the ECI on  the
issue of EVM-VVPAT, to witness the trial.
17) We have carefully perused the  relevant  materials  and  considered  the
rival contentions.
Discussion
18)    When  the  matter  was  listed  before  this  Court  for  hearing  on
27.09.2012, Mr. Ashok Desai had brought  to  our  notice  that  the  ECI  is
contemplating foolproof method in EVMs for which  they  are  taking  various
steps in consultation with the Technical Experts Committee and the views  of
all recognized political parties.  Mr. Desai also promised to appraise  this
Court about the deliberations and the ultimate decision to be taken by  them
in this regard.  Accordingly, this Court granted sufficient time to the  ECI
to file Status Report regarding introduction of VVPAT system in EVMs  to  be
used in the elections.
19)   Pursuant to the directions of this  Court,  the  ECI  filed  a  Status
Report on the developments of VVPAT system.  In the said  report,  the  ECI,
citing various technicalities, prayed for further time to  make  the  system
more robust for the field conditions.
20)   On 15.12.2012, M/s BEL, Bangalore filed a report  showing  the  status
of development of  VVPAT  system  which  contains  changes  that  have  been
carried out in VVPAT from September to December,  2012  and  also  furnished
chronological changes made in VVPAT system after  the  field  trial  of  the
VVPAT system held in July and August, 2012.
21)   Pursuant to the directions of this Court, the  Secretary,  ECI,  filed
an affidavit highlighting the following steps/ information:
           “(i)  That vide its Affidavit dated 14.01.2013,  the  Commission
           had filed the status report regarding introduction of the  VVPAT
           system in the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs).
           (ii)  That  subsequently,  in  the  Technical  Expert  Committee
           meeting held on 04.02.2013, the Committee approved the design of
           the VVPAT and decided that software fine tuning will be done and
           completed by the end of  February,  2013,  and  modified  design
           specifications  will  be  submitted  to  the  Technical   Expert
           Committee for approval.
           The Committee also recommended that the Commission may for using
           the VVPAT and that the VVPAT should be tried in a bye-election.
           (iii) That in the Technical Expert  Committee  meeting  held  on
           19.02.2013, the Committee finalized the VVPAT design.
           The manufacturers, namely, M/s. Bharat Electronics  Limited  and
           M/s. Electronics Corporation of India Limited  have  quoted  Rs.
           16,200/- (excluding duties, taxes  and  transport  charges)  per
           VVPAT system.
           The Commission has decided to purchase sufficient units of VVPAT
           for  trials  in  a  Bye-election,  at  an  approximate  cost  of
           Rs.72,90,000/-  (Rupees  seventy  two  lakh   ninety   thousand)
           approximately.
           (iv)   It  is  submitted  that  the  Commission   will   require
           approximately 13 lakh VVPAT units to be manufactures for 13 lakh
           EVMs presently available and roughly about Rs. 1690 crores  (One
           Thousand  Six  Hundred  Ninety  Crores)(i.e.  13  lakh  units  x
           Rs.13,000  per  unit)  are   required   for   the   purpose   of
           implementation of the  VVPAT  system  taking  into  account  the
           possible reduction in the cost per unit when produced in bulk.
           (v)   It is further submitted that in order to implement the new
           system the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961 will require  certain
           amendments.
           In this connection, vide letter No. 3/1/2013/Vol.II/SDR/86 dated
           28.03.2013,  the  Commission  has   informed   the   Legislative
           Department of the Ministry of Law and  Justice  inter  alia  the
           various amendments required to the relevant parts of  Rules  49A
           to 49X, 66A, 55C, 56C, 57C  and  Form  17C  of  the  Conduct  of
           Elections Rules, 1961, as well as introduction of Rules 49MA and
           56D in the said Rules…
           (vi)  That the Commission has called for a meeting  of  all  the
           recognized National and State Parties on 10th May, 2013 for  the
           purpose  of  demonstration  of  VVPAT  unit  to  them  and   for
           discussion with them for eliciting their views regarding use  of
           VVPAT system in the elections.  The petitioner herein and others
           interested in the matter would also be invited at the meeting.”

22)   It is seen from the records that after various deliberations with  the
experts and persons concerned with the  technology,  the  Technical  Experts
Committee approved the final design of VVPAT units in its  meeting  held  on
19.01.2013.  In order to meet the directions of this Court  and  for  proper
execution of VVPAT system, as noticed above, the ECI  in  its  letter  dated
28.03.2013, addressed to the Secretary to the Government of India,  Ministry
of Law and Justice stated that necessary ground work for  amendment  to  the
Conduct of Election Rules, 1961 (in relevant parts  in  Rules  49A  to  49X,
66A, 55C, 56C, 57C and Form 17C) may be made so that the  amendment  to  the
Rules can be notified immediately which will  enable  the  ECI  to  use  the
VVPAT system in bye-elections in consultation with  the  political  parties.
By placing all those materials, the ECI requested the Ministry  of  Law  and
Justice for drafting and notifying amendment Rules expeditiously.
23)   From the materials placed by the ECI, it is noted  that  the  purchase
order has been placed with M/s BEL and M/s ECIL for supplying  150  and  300
VVPAT units respectively at Rs. 16,200/- per  unit  excluding  excise  duty,
sales tax and transportation etc. costing Rs.  72,90,000/-  (approx.).   The
ECI has also highlighted that if the VVPAT  systems  are  ultimately  to  be
used with all the 13 lakh EVMs available, the total cost in the purchase  of
VVPAT units may come to about Rs. 1,690  crores,  taking  into  account  the
possible reduction in the cost per unit due to bulk production the cost  may
come to Rs. 13,000/- per unit approximately.
24)   The affidavit dated 21.08.2013, filed on  behalf  of  the  ECI,  shows
that the Ministry of Law and Justice,  on  24.07.2013,  referred  the  draft
notification to amend the Conduct of Election Rules,  1961  to  provide  for
use of VVPAT system of elections to the ECI  for  its  views  and  comments.
The ECI suggested certain minor modifications in the draft notification  and
sent the same back to the Ministry of Law and Justice on 02.08.2013  with  a
request to notify the amendment Rules at  the  earliest.   Accordingly,  the
Ministry of Law and Justice  notified  the  amendments  to  the  Conduct  of
Election Rules, 1961 in the Gazette of  India  vide  notification  No.  S.O.
2470(E) dated 14.08.2013 to enable use of VVPAT with EVMs.
25)      The aforesaid affidavit of the ECI also  shows  that  the  ECI  had
also convened a meeting of all the recognized National and  State  political
parties on 10.05.2013 and  demonstrated  before  their  representatives  the
working of VVPAT system.  Separately, on the same day, the ECI also  held  a
meeting with  individuals  including  the  appellant  herein  who  had  been
engaged with the ECI over the past several years regarding  the  functioning
of  EVMs.   VVPAT   system   was   demonstrated   before   them   as   well.
Representatives of political parties and other individuals  expressed  their
satisfaction over the VVPAT system.  Thereafter, the ECI had decided to  use
the  VVPAT  system  in  the  bye-election  from  51-Noksen   (ST)   Assembly
Constituency in the State of Nagaland.  Instructions  were  issued  to  hold
special meetings with the contesting  candidates  in  that  constituency  to
brief them about the use of VVPAT system.  The ECI  also  organized  special
training sessions for poll officers for the use  of  VVPAT  and  steps  were
taken to educate the electors for the same.
26)   After various hearings, when the matter was  heard  on  4.10.2013,  an
affidavit dated 01.10.2013 filed on behalf of  the  ECI  was  placed  before
this  Court.   The  said  affidavit  was  filed  to  place  on  record   the
performance/result of the introduction of  the  VVPAT  system  in  the  bye-
election from 51-Noksen (ST) Assembly Constituency  of  Nagaland  for  which
the poll was conducted on 04.09.2013 indicating the future course of  action
to be decided by the  ECI  on  the  basis  of  said  performance.   By  this
affidavit, it was brought to our notice that since VVPAT  system  was  being
used for the first time, the ECI has decided that intensive  training  shall
be given  to  the  polling  officers.   Members  of  the  Technical  Experts
Committee of the ECI also went to supervise training and the actual  use  of
VVPAT in the bye-election.  It is further stated that  the  ECI  also  wrote
letters  to  all  the  recognized  political  parties  and  other   persons,
including the appellant  herein,  engaged  with  the  ECI  on  this  subject
inviting them to witness the use of  VVPAT.   It  is  also  brought  to  our
notice that VVPAT was successfully used in all the 21  polling  stations  of
51-Noksen (ST) Assembly Constituency of Nagaland.  It was also  stated  that
as per the Rules, the paper slips of VVPAT shall  not  be  counted  normally
except  in  case  the  Returning  Officer  decides  to  count  them  on   an
application submitted by  any  of  the  candidates.   However,  since  VVPAT
system was being used for the first time in any election,  the  ECI  decided
on its own to  count  paper  slips  of  VVPAT  in  respect  of  all  polling
stations.  According to the  ECI,  no  discrepancy  was  found  between  the
electronic and paper count.
27)   In the said affidavit, it is finally stated that the ECI  has  decided
to increase the use of VVPAT units in a phased manner and for  this  purpose
the ECI has already written to the Government of India, Ministry of Law  and
Justice to issue administrative and financial sanction  for  procurement  of
20,000 units of VVPAT (10,000 each from M/s BEL and M/s ECIL) costing  about
Rs. 38.01 crore.
28)   Though initially the ECI was little reluctant  in  introducing  “paper
trail” by use of VVPAT, taking note  of  the  advantage  in  the  system  as
demonstrated by Dr. Subramanian Swamy, we issued several directions  to  the
ECI .  Pursuant to the  same,  the  ECI  contacted  several  expert  bodies,
technical advisers, etc.  They also had various meetings with  National  and
State level political parties,  demonstrations  were  conducted  at  various
places and finally after a thorough examination and full  discussion,  VVPAT
was used successfully in all the  21  polling  stations  of  51-Noksen  (ST)
Assembly Constituency of Nagaland.  The information furnished  by  the  ECI,
through the affidavit dated 01.10.2013, clearly shows that VVPAT  system  is
a successful one.  We have already highlighted that VVPAT  is  a  system  of
printing paper trail when the voter casts  his  vote,  in  addition  to  the
electronic record of the ballot, for the  purpose  of  verification  of  his
choice of candidate and also  for  manual  counting  of  votes  in  case  of
dispute.
29)   From the materials placed by both the sides,  we  are  satisfied  that
the  “paper  trail”  is  an  indispensable  requirement  of  free  and  fair
elections.  The confidence of the voters in the EVMs can  be  achieved  only
with the introduction of the “paper trail”.  EVMs with VVPAT  system  ensure
the accuracy  of  the  voting  system.   With  an  intent  to  have  fullest
transparency in the system and to restore the confidence of the  voters,  it
is necessary to set up EVMs with VVPAT system because vote  is  nothing  but
an act of expression which has immense importance in democratic system.
30)   In the light  of  the  above  discussion  and  taking  notice  of  the
pragmatic and reasonable approach of the ECI and considering the  fact  that
in general elections all over India, the ECI has to handle one million  (ten
lakhs) polling booths, we permit the ECI to introduce the  same  in  gradual
stages or geographical-wise in the ensuing  general  elections.   The  area,
State or actual booth(s) are to be decided by the ECI and the  ECI  is  free
to implement the same in a phased manner.  We  appreciate  the  efforts  and
good gesture made by the ECI in introducing the same.
31)   For implementation of such a system (VVPAT) in a  phased  manner,  the
Government of India is directed to  provide  required  financial  assistance
for procurement of units of VVPAT.
32)   Before parting with the case,  we  record  our  appreciation  for  the
efforts made by Dr. Subramanian Swamy as well as the ECI, in particular  Mr.
Ashok Desai and Ms. Meenakshi Arora, learned senior counsel for the ECI.
33)   With the above directions,  the  appeal  and  the  writ  petition  are
disposed of.   No  separate  order  is  required  in  the  applications  for
intervention.  Both sides are permitted to approach this Court  for  further
direction(s), if need arises.

                            ...…………….…………………………CJI

                               (P. SATHASIVAM)

                              .…....…………………………………J.

                              (RANJAN GOGOI)

NEW DELHI;
OCTOBER 8, 2013.
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