Ageing EVMs, more booths: EC seeks Rs 500 crore ahead of 2029 polls

The Election Commission of India (ECI) has requested over ₹500 crore from the Union Government to procure new Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) in preparatio...

What Happened

The Election Commission of India (ECI) has requested over ₹500 crore from the Union Government to procure new Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) in preparation for the 2029 Lok Sabha general elections.
The procurement is necessitated by two concurrent factors: a significant increase in the number of polling stations across India (driven by delimitation and growing voter rolls), and the impending retirement of a large cohort of EVMs that have reached or exceeded their operational lifespan of 15 years.
EVMs manufactured ahead of the 2014 general elections are due for retirement; their replacement must be planned well in advance given the lead time required for production by public-sector manufacturers.
The ECI also needs additional VVPAT (Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail) units to match the expanded booth network, as each polling station requires one Ballot Unit, one Control Unit, and one VVPAT.

Static Topic Bridges

Election Commission of India and Article 324

The Election Commission of India is a permanent, independent constitutional body established under Article 324 of the Constitution of India, which vests in the Commission the superintendence, direction, and control of the preparation of electoral rolls and the conduct of elections to Parliament, state legislatures, and the offices of the President and Vice-President. The ECI is empowered to act as the final authority on all electoral matters and cannot be directed by either the executive or the legislature in the discharge of its constitutional functions.

Constitutional basis: Article 324 (Part XV — Elections, Articles 324–329A)
Composition: Chief Election Commissioner and two Election Commissioners (since 1989; originally a single-member body)
Removal of the Chief Election Commissioner requires an address of both Houses of Parliament (by special majority), similar to the removal of a Supreme Court judge — ensuring independence
Security of tenure, service conditions, and salaries of Election Commissioners are protected by Parliament under Article 324(5)
The ECI administers the Model Code of Conduct (MCC), which comes into force from the announcement of elections and is a non-statutory but binding convention
The Representation of the People Act, 1950 and 1951 are the key statutory frameworks governing elections in India

Connection to this news: The ECI's request for ₹500 crore for EVM procurement is an exercise of its constitutional mandate under Article 324 — ensuring the material infrastructure necessary for free, fair, and efficient elections is in place well before the 2029 polls.

Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs)

EVMs were introduced in Indian elections to eliminate booth capturing, ballot stuffing, and invalid votes that plagued the paper ballot era. They were first used on a trial basis in the 1982 Kerala Legislative Assembly election (Parur constituency) and were approved by a panel of experts in 1990 as both technically reliable and tamper-proof. EVMs were rolled out nationwide in the 2004 Lok Sabha elections. Each EVM system at a polling booth consists of three units: the Ballot Unit (where voters press buttons), the Control Unit (operated by the Presiding Officer, which stores votes), and the VVPAT (which generates a paper slip for the voter to verify their choice before it falls into a sealed compartment).

Manufacturers: Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL, Bengaluru) and Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL, Hyderabad) — both Central Public Sector Undertakings
EVM lifespan: 15 years; one set can typically serve three election cycles
Components at each booth: 1 Ballot Unit + 1 Control Unit + 1 VVPAT
VVPAT introduced nationally in 2013; provides a verifiable paper trail
EVMs are standalone machines with no wireless connectivity or internet capability — by design, preventing remote tampering
The Supreme Court in PUCL v. Union of India (2013) upheld the constitutionality of EVMs and ordered the introduction of VVPATs for voter verifiability

Connection to this news: The EVMs manufactured for the 2014 Lok Sabha election are nearing the end of their 15-year lifespan; the ECI's ₹500 crore request is to replace this retiring cohort while simultaneously procuring additional units for the expanded polling station network expected by 2029.

Delimitation and Polling Station Expansion

Delimitation is the process of redrawing the boundaries of parliamentary and assembly constituencies. The Constitution mandates that delimitation be carried out after each Census by an independent Delimitation Commission under the Delimitation Act. The last delimitation of Lok Sabha seats was based on the 1971 Census (frozen by the 42nd Constitutional Amendment, 1976, until 2001; further frozen until after the first census post-2026 by the 84th Constitutional Amendment, 2001). With the first post-2026 census expected, delimitation is anticipated to increase the total number of Lok Sabha seats and consequently the number of polling stations.

Current number of Lok Sabha seats: 543
Current polling stations: approximately 10.5 lakh (for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections)
Post-delimitation polling stations for 2029: expected to increase significantly (estimates suggest up to 11.8 lakh)
Each additional polling station requires one full set of EVMs + VVPAT — directly driving the procurement budget
Delimitation Commission is constituted under the Delimitation Act (most recently the Delimitation Act, 2002) and is headed by a sitting or retired Supreme Court judge

Connection to this news: The dual pressure of EVM retirement and polling station expansion makes the ECI's ₹500 crore+ budget request necessary before 2029 — the Commission must initiate procurement several years in advance to allow BEL and ECIL adequate production lead time.

Key Facts & Data

Budget sought by ECI: over ₹500 crore for EVM procurement ahead of 2029 elections
EVM operational lifespan: 15 years
EVM manufacturers: BEL (Bengaluru) and ECIL (Hyderabad)
Current polling stations: approximately 10.5 lakh (2024 Lok Sabha); expected to rise significantly by 2029
Components per booth: 1 Ballot Unit + 1 Control Unit + 1 VVPAT
VVPAT introduced nationally: 2013
EVMs used nationwide for first time: 2004 Lok Sabha elections
Constitutional basis for ECI: Article 324, Constitution of India
Governing legislation: Representation of the People Act, 1950 & 1951