eSignature Form for Procurement Fast

eProcurement refers to the process of purchasing goods and services over the internet. airSlate SignNow streamlines this process by allowing businesses to securely send and eSign documents, ensuring a faster and more efficient procurement workflow.

airSlate SignNow offers seamless integrations with various eProcurement systems, helping you enhance your procurement operations. By connecting airSlate SignNow to your existing tools, you can ensure that all your purchasing documents are electronically signed and filed with ease.

Key features of airSlate SignNow include customizable templates, real-time tracking, and secure cloud storage. These features enable businesses to manage their eProcurement documents more effectively and ensure that signatures are obtained promptly, reducing delays.

Yes, airSlate SignNow is designed to provide a cost-effective solution for businesses looking to optimize their eProcurement processes. With flexible pricing plans and no hidden fees, it offers excellent value for organizations of all sizes.

Security is a top priority for airSlate SignNow, which includes features like encryption, secure cloud storage, and compliance with industry standards. This commitment to security helps businesses feel confident that their eProcurement transactions are protected.

Absolutely! By allowing users to send and eSign documents electronically, airSlate SignNow signNowly reduces the time required for procurement approvals. This acceleration leads to faster purchasing decisions and enhances overall business efficiency.

Yes, airSlate SignNow provides a variety of resources, including tutorials, webinars, and customer support. These resources are designed to help users maximize the platform's features for eProcurement, ensuring a smoother implementation and successful experience.

Any industry involving a large amount of paperwork make use electronic signatures. In other words, all industries make use of electronic signatures because all of them have piles of paperwork to handle. Some examples of such industries include financial, life science, healthcare and pharmaceutical industries.Industries such as the pharmaceutical industry, have a number of licenses and other paperwork that they have to handle and keep track of. It can be a tedious task to perform such cumbersome paper processes. Therefore, e-signatures can facilitate an organisation in keeping a track of all this paperwork, by signing electronically.Healthcare industries usually involve time-sensitive documents, which need to be urgently completed. But, it can take days in case of the traditional wet ink paper signatures for the documents to signNow the signer and back, if the parties are geographically scattered. But with electronic signatures, that is not the case. Geographical barriers do not play a role. Documents which earlier needed days to be completed, can now be signed and sent back within minutes, in the click of a button. Furthermore, it takes a long time to bring assets under management. The time taken by the signing process, if wet ink paper signatures are used, may even further delay the process. But by using electronic signatures, the whole process can speed up.Apart from these, there are many paper prone industries which require huge amount of paperwork and with the use of electronic signatures they can make their everyday processes smoother and more efficient.

There are many advantages of e-procurement and few of, according to me, highlighted below.1. it saves time for both buyer and bidder as e-procurement can be access from anywhere and so, physical movement is not required.2. it is also convenient to both buyer and bidder as it is again accessible from everywhere since it is available in the electronic form.3. it keeps transparency which benefited both buyers to get best rates and vendor to get fair opportunity to work.4. A buyer gets good competitions as on electronic procurement any vendor can participate in the tender.5. A vendor can also get many opportunities related to their business as they can search and find appropriate opportunity related to their business.6. it also gives automated prepared report generated from a system which no one can challenge, and so everyone believes it.7. It is very secure as some e-procurement system uses the encryption-decryption system for their commercial proposal of a bid by using digital signature certificate (DSC) which near to break it or hack it. So it is very secure.8. Buyer (Govt. dept.) can work fast, and so helps to society as most of govt. work can be done by a tender process which is moving on the electronic form.so there are many advantages but above are a key one for me.

I will give a step-wise explanation on why IAF still uses Jaguar and Mig-21 till date even though they were retired long ago by some of the operators around the world.Mig-21 : It was in early 1980s , when Indian Air Force realised that it needed to replace its Mig-21 since they will be signNowing the end of their service life by 1990s which will be a critical fall for Indian Air Force in terms of numbers. Hence the Tejas programme was started which had its own share of problems and was dragged on for many years. Hence what IAF needed was an interim solution. The solution came when it was decided that IAF Mig-21 will be upgraded and its Total Technical Life (TTL) will be extended. The upgrade involved better avionics , armaments , EW suite and more. This helped the Mig-21 to stay for much longer in Indian Air Force. The sole reason why Mig-21 has persisted in IAF till date was due to the fact that Tejas programme faced initial hiccups and thus failed in its objective to replace the older Mig-21 in IAF service.Recently IAF has retired its Mig-21 Type 96 Aircrafts as Tejas programme has started to bore results with Tejas now being actively inducted in Flying Daggers Squadron of IAF. At present IAF uses only Mig-21 Bison/bis aircrafts which will be retired from service by next decade.SEPECAT Jaguar : Jaguars in IAF service are termed as “Deep Penetration Strike Aircraft” ( DPSA ) meant as a Fighter-Bomber to strike deep in the enemy territory. Indian Air Force has serially upgraded its Jaguars with DARIN programmes the latest being DARIN III which adds an AESA radar to the Jaguar. Future replacement for Jaguar can be AMCA which is an Indian 5th Generation Fighter Aircraft currently under development. The extended life which has been breathed in Indian Jaguars through MLUs can well keep Indian Jaguars in air up till next decade.India has been notoriously known for running the aircrafts in its inventory for a much longer time than warranted by its TTL through MLUs like in case of Mig-21 and Jaguars and even Mig-27 and others. Retiring almost 200+ Mig-21 will bring in a critical void which IAF doesn’t want due to its falling numbers. Also Jaguar is India’s lone DPSA so as long as upgrades are available and quick replacements are unavailable it is better to keep them running as these aircrafts serve quite well in their roles.Many nations still use Mig-21 like Romania with some of the famous Mig-21 knockoffs like F-7 used many nations around the world like Bangladesh , Pakistan and Egypt.

Click here Digital signature for e tenderThe eProcurement Project is a core eGovernance initiative and the platform of the Telangana State Government and is being used by all Government Departments, Public Sector Undertakings, Urban Local Bodies and Universities in the State. The project is very efficient in procurement processes, transparent and also it delivers demonstrable benefits like cost savings to the User Departments, signNow reduction of tender process time.On receipt of certain representations/feedback from the Departments for providing additional features on the existing eProcurement platform, the Steering Committee headed by the Chief Secretary to Government have finalized the "Development of new version of eProcurement & eAuction system" and accordingly, the APTS has entered into Agreement on 12.02.2014 with M/s Cambridge Technology Enterprises. Further, a Supplementary Agreement was entered on 30.05.2014, in view of the AP Re-Organization Act 2014, to cater the needs of the newly formed State of Telangana. This new Version of eProcurement is launched on 03.10.2017 (00.00 Hours)The main priority of the Government are to deliver the eProcurement Services very efficiently and fast processing the Tender & eAuction Services, the main priorities of the Govt. are Certain Irrigation Projects under Mission Kakatiya and Bhagiratha, Double Bed Rooms Scheme and other Developmental Works in the State.Click here for Digital Signature

Rafale vs Typhoon: The facts!Thrust to weight ratio:Maximum:Rafale = 1.50Typhoon = 1.76Nominal:Rafale = 1.03Typhoon = 1.21Minimum:Rafale = 0.62Typhoon = 0.82RafaleEmpty weight = 10220 kgFuel capacity (internal) = 4680 kgMinimum weight = 10220 kgNominal weight (without external loads) = 14900 kgMaximum weight = 24500 kgMaximum Thrust = 2*75 kNMaximum Thrust-to-weight = 2*75/(9.81*10.220) = 1.50Nominal Thrust-to-weight = 2*75/(9.81*14.900) = 1.03Minimum Thrust-to-weight = 2*75/(9.81*24.500) = 0.62TyphoonMinimum weight = 11000 kgFuel capacity (internal) = 4.996 kgNominal weight = 15996 kgMaximum weight = 23500 kgMaximum Thrust = 2*95 kN (war setting)Maximum Thrust-to-weight = 2*95/(9.81*11.000) = 1.76Nominal Thrust-to-weight = 2*95/(9.81*15.996) = 1.21Minimum Thrust-to-weight = 2*95/(9.81*23.500) = 0.82Wing loading:Minimum:Rafale = 224 kg/m²Typhoon = 215 kg/m²Nominal:Rafale = 326 kg/m²Typhoon = 312 kg/m²Maximum:Rafale = 536 kg/m²Typhoon = 459 kg/m²RafaleWing area = 45,70 m²Nominal weight = 14900 kgMinimum wing loading = 10220/45.70 kg/m² = 224 kg/m²Nominal wing loading = 14900/45.70 kg/m² = 326 kg/m²Maximum wing loading = 24500/45.70 kg/m² = 536 kg/m²Typhoonwing area = 51.2 m² (with extended leading edges)Minimum wing loading = 11000/51.2 kg/m² = 215 kg/m²Nominal wing loading = 15996/51.2 kg/m² = 312.5 kg/m²Maximum wing loading = 23500/51.2 kg/m² = 459 kg/m²Service Ceiling:Rafale = 15.240 kmTyphoon = 16.765 kmRate of Climb:Rafale = 250 m/sTyphoon = 315 m/sFerry Range:Rafale = 3750 kmTyphoon = 3790 kmMaximum payload:Rafale = 9600 kgTyphoon = 7500 kgMinimum Speed: Rafale = 148 km/hTyphoon = 203 km/hMaximum Speed:Rafale = Mach 1.97Typhoon = Mach 2.35The Rafale has two advantages over the typhoon. It has a lower minimum speed, which makes it more suitable for landings on aircraft carriers. It can carrier a higher weapons load, which makes it more suitable for ground attack missions. The respective range of both aircraft is approximately equal. In all of the parameters relevant for aerial combat, i.e. thrust-to-weight ratio, wing loading, climb rate, service ceiling and top speed, the typhoon is superior to the Rafale.Both Rafale and Typhoon were built to be aerodynamically instable along the longitudinal axis, which results in the natural tendency to lift the nose of the aircraft, i.e. to pitch. The canards are used in order to balance this tendency such that the aircraft can be redirected from a looping into a straight flight path. The Rafale's canards are positioned right in front of the wings, whereas the typhoons canards are positioned further away from the wings right below the cockpit. This means that the typhoon's canards are further away from the axis of rotation. The longer lever means that the typhoon's canards can apply a greater leverage force (torque) in order to redirect the nose of the aircraft. Consequently, the instantaneous as well as the continuous pitch rates of the typhoon should be considerably better than the Rafale.PerformanceTyphoon is the faster aircraft and has a signNowly superior thrust-to-weight ratio which gives it better acceleration at all altitudes. This also allows Typhoon to retain and regain energy faster than Rafale in a horizontal dogfight situation. It also has a signNowly higher service ceiling of over 60,000ft which allows it to operate uniquely well alongside the US F-22 Raptors ‘high and fast’ in the air superiority role which is exactly where it was designed to excel. Rafale has a signNowly superior load-carrying capability and its manoeuvrability at low speeds and altitudes is also better than Typhoon’s although the margin is slim except where both aircraft are very heavily loaded. In terms of horizontal manoeuvrability, Rafale has the better instantaneous turn rate allowing it to reverse its turns more quickly but Typhoon can sustain higher g’s for longer without bleeding speed. High alpha performance is similar, with both aircraft limited by their air intake placement and lack of thust vectoring although Typhoon’s intakes can at least ‘gape’ slightly to increase airflow at high Alpha and low speeds. Range is almost identical at around 2000nmi with three drop-tanks in ‘ferry’ configuration but in terms of strike missions, Rafale’s greater payload capacity allows it to carry greater under-wing fuel loads for a given strike payload. The high availability of aerial refuelling in both air force’s standard operating scenarios means the small differences are almost unimportant for overall combat effectiveness.the french rafalethe eurofighter typhoonsource:Typhoon versus Rafale: The final word

We have close to 300 Su 30 MKIs. However they are plagued by maintenance issues . Poor spare availability has further worsened availability of the top line fighter , resulting in only 60% of the fighters beeing available for active duties . This figure is up from 47% when the Rafale deal was announced.While it has been debated that this is due to high peace time operational tempo of the IAF training missions , High ratio of Maintenance hours to Flying hours is an issue with heavy Air-Superiority Fighters , these Dukes of the sky also cost good money in maintenance.IAF wanted lighter Multirole , High endurance and High Availability , Easy to Maintain fighters to replace Mig 27s & 23s . Rafale deal was also meant to bring lot of new technologies and help build LCA MK 2 and AMCA . This is the reason for Rafeal deal.From what we have last heard in the news , Rafale deal will bring in the following technologies & projects to Indian defence agencies as part offset commitments of the current 36 fighter deal :1. Kaveri engine project: Snecma has proposed to invest $1billion to iron out the issues in Kaveri Jet Engine and bring it to production standard in time to be fit on to the LCA MK1A. If this turns true, this alone is worth the whole deal. This will enable India for the first time with a capable Jet Engine with massive applications.2. Thrust Vectoring Nozzles for Missiles : MBDA will work with DRDO to transfer Thrust Vectoring technologies that can be applied to Astra and other missiles to bring them on par with Meteor in terminal phase maneuverability , giving the missiles higher kill probability. A clever application of this will be to apply TVC to Kaveri Jet Engine. However another project with Kilmov of Russia , that is currently underway , will also be able to give TVC capability to Kaveri engine.3. Stealth Coatings and Paints :The final stealth coating of the 36 jets might be done in India and this will be done as part of Make in India component of the deal. Also as part of the deal the special spray paint and coating technology will be transferred. This also has immense potential for application to other projects like LCA , AMCA , SU 30 MKI upgrade , FGFA , AURA etc..4. AESA RADAR :The radar technology on Rafale can easily be adapted to other aircrafts in IAF . As part of the deal the multimode AESA radar technology will be transferred to DRDO for application on UTTAM AESA radar.Conclusion :If these technologies are quickly observed and put to good use then the deal is definitely worth it. 36 Rafale will help build 360 LCA (All versions) if we can effectively leverage this deal.This will cover up for the low number of fighter aircraft that IAF has for joint operations against Pakistan and China.

Losing tummy fat in 10 days is not an impossible task. With the proper changes in the diet, lifestyle and exercise it is possible to get a flat tummy within 10 days. It is necessary to use specific dietary and exercise strategies which target the abdominal area to lose tummy fat. Elevating the metabolic rate is the key to reduce the fat deposits in the body. Follow the strategy given below to get flat tummy in 10 days.Day 1The first step in achieving flat tummy is to remove all the junk food from your house. Replace the junk food with nutrient packed and fiber rich food like fruits, vegetables, poultry, lean beef, whole grains, low-fat dairy products, beans, nuts, seeds etc. Do not store hot dogs or sausages or candy bars in your home. Avoid all carbohydrate food for the first day. Start drinking 10-12 glass of water to cleanse your system and to remove the fat from the body. You can also try fasting for one- to three days prior to starting the effort to get a flat tummy. During this fasting take only 3-5 apple cider vinegar drinks.Mix 2 tablespoons of organic apple cider vinegar and one tablespoon of honey and 8 ounces of pure waterTake this 2- 3 times a day to jump start the fat reduction program.Day 2Take more of boiled or raw vegetables this day. You can use thin vegetable or chicken soup to reduce belly fat. Make sure that you consume something every two to three hours. This will increase your metabolic rate and stabilize the blood sugar. Taking five to six servings of fruits and vegetables will prevent cravings for food. Avoid high carb fruits like banana, apple etc. If you are a person who regularly does exercises, you can continue your exercises along with these changes in the diet. If you have not started exercising, start with mild exercises like walking for 20 minutes.Day 3Consume about 50 grams of carbohydrate for your breakfast. Low carb diets are important, if you want to lose fat faster. One cup of oatmeal has 50 grams of carbohydrate. For other meals of the day consume lean protein about the size of your fist. You can use whey protein, yoghurt, fresh fruits and vegetables as snacks. Limit the intake of fat to olive oil or fish oil. Avoid using mayonnaise, margarine, butter, other vegetable oils etc. You can start doing exercises like breathing squat to get rid of the belly fat.Lower your bottom as far as possible in the squat position. Inhale while going down. Wait for a few minutes and come up exhaling slowly.Repeat the exercise for 10 times.Day 4You can take omelet with three egg white and vegetables or spinach added to it for your breakfast. You can take snacks like boiled chicken with red pepper or cucumber with turkey breast as snacks. Include salads made of vegetables, chicken, olive oil etc for lunch. Do not take more than 150gms of chicken or turkey at one serving. You can also use a fistful of seeds or nuts when you feel hungry. This will reduce the craving. Start doing some crunches to mobilize the fat around the gut.Lie on your back with hands under your head, place the feet firmly on the floor with the knees bend.Use the tummy muscles to crunch and raise your shoulders off the floorDo at least three sets of crunches.Day 5You can consume low fat milk and fruits this day. If you want you can include one or two bananas. This provides the necessary carbohydrate for your body. You can take vegetable soups or salads to fill your stomach and to get all the nutrient supply. Drink plenty of water and add sit-ups to your exercise regime.Lie on your back with the knees bent and feet on the floor. Extend your arms so that the fingers are pointed upwards.Exhale and try to sit up slowlyInhale and lower yourself to the start position.Day 6You can use green beans, scrambled eggs made with one whole egg and two egg whites and tomatoes for your breakfast. You can use cod fillet or grilled chicken breast as your snack. You can consume fish or lean meat in different forms. Do not forget to add five servings of fruits and vegetables. Do all the exercises from walking to sit ups.You can increase the number of crunches and sit ups if you want faster fat removal.Day 7You can use grilled or boiled chicken or duck breast for your breakfast along with steamed spinach or grilled tomatoes. Use Brazil nuts or watermelon seeds or steamed broccoli as a snack. You can change the exercise to aerobic exercise today.Changing the exercise will give a shock to the body and increases the metabolic rate effectively causing to lose fat from belly faster.Do 30 minutes of aerobics exercise.Day 8Avoid food with low– nutrient content. You can opt for breakfast with whole wheat bread and omelet using the white of two eggs. Continue drinking 10-12 glass of water and select healthy snacks like soy crisps, fruit with yoghurt dip etc.You can opt for swimming apart from the regular exercise regime.Day 9Again make this day the vegetarian day. Use all the vegetables which are less in calories throughout the day. This wills help to cleanse tour digestive system of the fat deposits. Include the most fibrous vegetables to get the best result.Increase walking to 40 minutesYou can either opt for all the crunches and sit-ups or you can do only the swimming and aerobic exercise.Day 10You can have breakfast that includes whole grains food items and fruits. Continue the low –fat, high fiber snacks and soups as and when required. Try to add diversity to your workout by getting a jumping rope or adding leg tuck exercise. Continue with the low sugar, low carb diet to make the results last forever.Do you want to reduce your tummy and give a flat look to it? Do you want to achieve the goal within 10 days? Follow the above diet and exercise plan to elevate the metabolic rate and to reduce the belly fat.Hope this helps! If you have any further questions, feel free to WhatsApp us and get the instant assistant from our experts-WhatsApp - 95300 69900

This is a long answer.I may be violating copyright law. But I think it is necessary.This question has been blown out of proportion. I am directly quoting the relevant sections- without any editing-from former election commissioner book.Read both Technical security aspects and administrative security aspects. Those who say that give me EVM and I will hack it ignore the administrative security aspects is like saying give me a gun and remove the security of Prime Minister and I can Kill him.Link of the book:English:Buy An Undocumented Wonder: The Great Indian Election Book Online at Low Prices in IndiaHindi:Buy Loktantra Ke Utsav Ki Unkahi Kahani (A Undocumented Wonder) (Hindi) Book Online at Low Prices in IndiaBelow are the sections from the book:Electronic Voting MachinesHistory and BackgroundNo presentation on the use of technology in Indian elections can be complete without a reference to EVMs. The voting system in India has undergone several changes over the decades. During the first two general elections to the Lok Sabha in 1952 and 1957, each candidate was allotted a separate coloured ballot box. The candidate’s name and symbol were not printed on ballot papers. Voters would drop an unmarked ballot paper in the ballot box of the candidate of their choice. The system, though very simple, evoked fears of tampering in the minds of stakeholders. Therefore, a marking system on the ballot paper was introduced during the mid-term elections to the Legislative Assemblies in Kerala and Odisha in 1960–61. That system remained in vogue until the 1999 Lok Sabha elections.Meanwhile, in 1977 the Commission introduced some form of electronic machines for recording votes in an error-free manner and removing the possibilities of invalid votes. S.L. Shakdhar, the then Chief Election Commissioner, while on tour in Hyderabad in December1977 requested M/s Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL) to study the feasibility of using an electronic gadget for conducting elections. M/s Bharat Electronics Limited, Bengaluru (BEL) had already developed microcomputer based voting equipment, which they had used for the elections for the various unions of the company. They approached the Commission in January 1981 for manufacturing EVMs. On 29 July 1981 the Commission held a meeting with representatives from BEL, ECIL, the Ministry of Law and some CEOs regarding the use of EVMs in elections. It was decided to introduce EVMs in fifty polling stations in the 70-Parur assembly constituency in the assembly elections to the Legislative Assembly of Kerala held on 19 May 1982 as an experimental measure (the machines used had eight candidate buttons in the ballot unit (BU) instead of the sixteen candidate buttons as in existing EVMs. However, seven such BUs could be connected in series to provide for a maximum of fifty-six candidates).Since the central government could not take steps to introduce legislation as proposed by the Commission for amendments to the Representation of the People Act, 1951, and to the Conduct of Elections Rules, 1961 to facilitate the use of EVMs, the Commission issued directives under Article 324 of the Constitution of India for the use of EVMs and conducted elections at fifty polling stations using the machines. The use of EVMs was challenged in court and the Supreme Court of India* held that EVMs cannot be used in an election unless a specific provision is made in law providing for their use. The law was amended by Parliament in December 1988 and a new Section 61A was added in the Representation of the People Act, 1951, empowering the Commission to use voting machines. The amended provision came into force on 15 March 1989.In January 1990 the Government of India appointed the Electoral Reforms Committee (Dinesh Goswami Committee) consisting of representatives from several recognized national and state parties. The Electoral Reforms Committee felt that the machines should be examined by technical experts with a view to removing any doubts or misapprehensions in the minds of the public with regard to the credibility of the working of the machines. To do so it constituted an expert committee under the chairmanship of S. Sampath, Chairman, TAC, Defence Research & Development Organization, Ministry of Defence, and comprising reputed scientist P.V. Indiresan of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi, and Rao C. Kasarbada, Director, ER&DC, Trivandrum. The committee, after meeting with the manufacturers, election administrators and technical experts and conducting detailed laboratory tests, came to the conclusion that the EVM was a secure system. In April 1990, therefore, the expert committee unanimously recommended the use of EVMs without further loss of time.On 24 March 1992 necessary amendments to the Conduct of Elections Rules 1961 were notified by the government with regard to the use of EVMs. EVMs have been used in all bye-elections to parliamentary constituencies and Legislative Assembly constituencies since November 1998. The general elections to the Lok Sabha in 2004 and 2009 were conducted exclusively on EVMs. Several technological changes were made in EVMs in 2001 and again in 2006 to upgrade them. To address the concern that the fast changing technology may have overtaken older members, the Technical Experts Committee was expanded and it now has P.V. Indiresan as its Chairman, and D.T. Shahaniand, A.K. Aggarwala of IIT, Delhi, D.K. Sharma of IIT, Mumbai and Rajat Moona from IIT, Kanpur (now DG, CDAC) as its members. The Commission does not take any technical decision without their recommendation or approval.Types of Electronic VotingAcross the world, electronic voting is essentially of two types. First and most commonly used is polling place e-voting. The second is remote e-voting online which has been used only experimentally in some countries like Switzerland, Canada, Estonia and Spain. Moreover, EVMs used in polling place e-voting are of two types, Direct Recording Electronic Voting Machines (DR-EVM) and those using optical scanners. When a voter presses a button on the DR-EVM his vote is recorded electronically in the machine’s memory. EVMs used in India, Venezuela and Brazil fall in this category. In the other type a voter marks his choice on a paper ballot which is then optically scanned and the counting is done electronically. Some states in the US use this type of machine. Direct recording voting machines can either have electro-mechanical buttons or a touch-screen to record votes. These can either be stand-alone or networked. Networked machines can transmit results to a central server to compile results quickly and display them at a central website. Indian EVMs are direct recording voting machines with electro-mechanical buttons for voters and are non-networked. Counting is done separately by each machine and the result from all machines is compiled manually.Security Features in Indian EVMsTechnical Security—ECI-EVMs are manufactured by the Electronics Corporation of India Limited (Department of Atomic Energy) and Bharat Electronics Limited (Ministry of Defence), both central public sector undertakings which are entrusted with developing high security defence equipment. The machines are both mechanically and electronically protected to prevent any tampering. The software used in these machines is burnt into a one-time programmable/masked chip so that it cannot be altered or tampered with. These machines are not networked either by wire or by wireless with any other machine or system.Therefore, there is no possibility of data corruption by hacking. The software for this chip is developed in-house by BEL and ECIL independently. The software development team is separate from the production team and reports directly to the CMD.Operationally, the Indian EVM is a set of two units—the ballot unit and the control unit. A vote can be recorded only after the presiding officer enables the ballot unit through the control unit. However, even the presiding officer cannot enable the ballot for twelve seconds after every ballot is cast. Thus, a maximum of five votes can be cast in one minute. Samples of EVMs from production batches are regularly checked for functionality by the quality assurance group which is an independent group within BEL and ECIL. Certain additional security features were introduced in 2006. These include dynamic coding between the ballot unit and the control unit, installing a real-time clock, installing a full display system, and date and time stamping of every key press.Administration Security Measures for EVMsThe Commission has put in place elaborate procedural checks and balances aimed at preventing any possible misuse or lapses.EVMs are kept in a secure room with only one double-locked door. The room is guarded twenty-four hours by armed police. The lock on the EVM warehouse is opened only after giving notice to political parties to be present at the time of unlocking.First level checking (FLC) of each EVM is done before elections by BEL and ECIL. FLC is done transparently in the presence of representatives of political parties. A mock poll by casting at least a thousand votes in at least 10 per cent (now reduced to 5 per cent after political parties found 10 per cent too cumbersome) of EVMs randomly selected by political parties is done at the time of FLC. After the mock poll, a sequential printout of the result is taken and shown to the political parties for comparing the record of the mock poll kept by them. The entire FLC process is videographed. After the FLC every EVM is sealed using a pink paper seal manufactured by the Security Printing Press, Nasik, using security paper and security printing technology. Every pink paper seal has a unique number. Representatives of political parties put their signatures on the pink paper seal. After it has been sealed thus, the plastic cover of the machine cannot be opened during the election without breaking it. Any machine with a broken or damaged seal will not be used.EVMs are randomized by the District Election Officer before being distributed in the assembly constituencies in the presence of representatives of recognized political parties, to guard against the possibility of anyone manipulating the software.Preparing EVMs for candidates’ setting is done in the presence of the candidates or their agents or authorized representatives, and in the presence of the Commission’s observer. At this stage, once again, a mock poll is conducted.Multi-level thread sealing of various compartments and sections is done at the time of candidates’ setting as:Thread seal for the ‘candidate set’ and power pack (battery) section of the control unit after setting the number of contesting candidates and installing the battery respectively.Thread seal for ballot paper screen of the ballot unit after fixing the ballot paper.Two thread seals for ballot paper cover of the balloting unit.After this, the returning officers do the second randomization of the Control Units (CUs) and Balloting Units (BUs) to allot a CU and BU to specific polling stations.These CUs/BUs are then stored in a strongroom in the presence of the candidates/their agents and the Commission’s observer. The candidates/their agents are allowed to put their seals on the lock to the strongroom.The strongroom is opened in the presence of candidates/ their agents and the observer on the day when polling parties are dispatched to their respective polling stations.Before the actual poll, a mock poll of at least 100 votes is done by the presiding officer in the presence of candidates or their authorized agents to demonstrate that the EVM is working properly.Sealing of the result section/bottom compartment of the control units is done by the presiding officer after the mock poll in the presence of polling agents with the following seals:Green paper seal for result sectionThread seal for inner door of result sectionThread seal for the bottom compartmentThread seal for connector box for the cascading balloting unit, if any (when there are more than sixteen candidates)After the poll, the EVMs are sealed with paper seals and packed in plastic boxes, which are also sealed. These EVMs are taken straight to the strongroom from the polling stations. The strongroom is closed and sealed in the presence of the candidates/their agents and the Commission’s observer. They are permitted to affix their own seals on the locks of the strongroom and are allowed to guard it till the counting begins. They are provided facilities for this purpose. In addition, an armed police guard keeps round the clock vigil. Arrangements are also made for video coverage and CCTV coverage of the strongroom round the clock.The storage hall so sealed is opened in the presence of the candidates/their agents and the Commission’s observer on the day of counting.Controversies about EVMsEarly ControversiesBefore the elections in Tamil Nadu, Jayalalithaa Jayaram, General Secretary of the AIADMK, had written a letter to the Commission to discard EVMs and use paper ballots in the state assembly elections in 2001 on the grounds that electronic devices had failed miserably even in scientifically and technologically advanced countries like the US and Japan. She also filed a W.P. No. 3346 of 2001 in the High Court of Chennai. The case finally went to the Supreme Court where it was decided in favour of EVMs.Captain Amrinder Singh, President, Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee, raised objections in a petition before the Punjab High Court prior to assembly elections in 2002. He sent a team of experts to the Election Commission, as directed by the High Court, to examine the machines. The experts could not come up with any concrete objection even after detailed examination of the EVMs.Satinath Choudhary, a computer scientist in the USA and the President of Better Democracy Forum, could not demonstrate any tamperability of EVMs in a demonstration session on alleged tamperability of ECI–EVMs on 8 August 2009 in the premises of the Election Commission of India.A demonstration session on alleged tamperability of ECI–EVMs by one Haneefa (who, incidentally, wanted to promote his own machine) was held on 12 October 2007 in Bangalore. He could not demonstrate any malfunction or tamperability and was fined by the court.Recent ControversiesThe Commission also received petitions from individuals raising doubts about the non-tamperability of EVMs. These include Kirit Somaiya of the Bharatiya Janata Party, G.K. Mani, President, Pattali Makkal Katchi, Omesh Saigal, retired Chief Secretary of Delhi, Subramaniyam Swami, President Janata Party and Satinath Chowdhery.Rashtriya Janata Dal, All Indian Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Telugu Desam Party, All India Forward Bloc, Asom Gana Parishad, Communist Party of India, Communist Party of India (Marxist), Indian National Lok Dal, Janata Dal United, Janata Dal (Secular), Rashtriya Lok Dal, Revolutionary Socialist Party and Samajwadi Party wrote a letter to the Commission requesting an all-party meeting on EVMs. The BJP also made the same request in a separate letter. The Commission held an all-party meeting on 4 October 2010 in which EVMs were discussed along with three other issues—monitoring expenditure, paid news and criminalization of politics. Most of the political parties expressed satisfaction with EVMs. Some political parties requested the Commission that the Expert Committee may be asked to examine the feasibility of introducing a Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) with the EVMs.A programme on a Telugu TV Channel TV-9 by V.V. Rao and Hariprasad made a demonstration of alleged tamperability of EVMs on an EVM allegedly stolen from the office of the DEO, Mumbai. An FIR for theft of public property was registered. The trial in the case is ongoing.The main points raised by people alleging tamperability and the reasons why these are not acceptable include:It has been alleged that there is a possibility of the presence of a Trojan horse in an EVM. However, there is no such possibility because the software code is secret and not readable by anybody. The software programmers are of very high integrity. EVMs are manufactured by reputed public sector organizations and have proved very reliable. Every EVM is subjected to rigorous checks before deployment in the presence of political party representatives.It has been alleged that there is lack of voter verifiability in EVMs. The fact is that the voter verifies his or her ballot by a beep and by a LED getting lit next to the candidate’s button on the BU once the button is pressed.Some people say that there is a lack of a possibility of recount. The fact is that a recount is possible any number of times. There will not be any variance in the result displayed as there are no human errors in machine counting.Possibility of change of components (hardware hacking) has been mentioned. The fact is that after FLC an EVM is sealed and its inside cannot be accessed, making hardware hacking impossible.It was shown on television that the display on an EVM can be controlled from another Bluetooth device by passing the data in the EVM. This is not possible in a real election because in a real election nobody has access to EVMs and it is not possible to introduce a Bluetooth device in an EVM because of administrative safeguards and security.It was shown in the same television programme that using a chip on the memory, he could access and change the data in the memory of the EVM. This cannot be done in a real election because nobody can access the memory in an EVM without breaking open all its seals. A broken seal can be easily identified. If a seal is found broken or damaged, the machine is not used.Voter Verifiable Paper Audit TrailThe demand for a voter verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) in the EVMs has been around for some years. VVPAT allows voters to verify that their vote was cast correctly, and to provide a means to audit the stored electronic results. It includes a direct recording electronic voting machine (DRE) and a printer to print the ballot recorded in the electronic memory. It was first demonstrated in New York City in March 2001 and first used in Sacramento, California in 2002. In a VVPAT system the voter can review a physical ballot to confirm that the electronic voting system accurately recorded his or her vote. In addition, the election officials may manually recount ballots in the event of a dispute.The demand was referred to the Technical Experts Committee by the Commission, as suggested in the all-party meeting held by the Election Commission. The committee anticipated several technical problems in a VVPAT system, including:Possibility of the printer getting jammedRequirement of a large battery to operate the printer, which is difficult to maintain and chargeRequirement of special technical training for all polling personnelLonger time required per voterHigher costsIlliteracy in large sections of the population making it difficult for them to read the printoutPossibility of fading of the printout in a thermal paper printerThe Technical Expert Committee held consultations with political parties, civil society organizations and manufacturers of EVMs, and also saw a demonstration of the prototype VVPAT system developed by EVM manufacturers. The Technical Expert Committee recommended that a field trial of the system should be held in extreme environmental conditions.A field trial was accordingly conducted in Thiruvananthapuram (coastal area in Kerala), Delhi (capital of India), Jaisalmer (hot, desert region in Rajasthan), Cherapunji (in Meghalaya, receives highest rainfall in the world) and Leh (snowbound region in Jammu & Kashmir) in July 2011 in the presence of all stakeholders including political parties, civil society organizations and the media. The Commission issued a press note for wide participation of voters. It was found that certain improvements were required in the VVPAT system before it could be considered for use in an election. The Commission asked EVM manufacturers to carry out the design changes required.Thereafter, the manufacturers made several important changes in the design and produced an improved prototype. The Technical Experts Committee recommended that it should be tested in the field once again at the same places where the first field trial was held. Accordingly, the second field trial was held in July–August 2012, again in the presence of all stakeholders.The Technical Expert Committee approved the final design of the VVPAT units in a meeting held on 19 February 2013. The system was demonstrated in another all-party meeting held on 10 May 2013. All political parties recommended that VVPAT should be used in elections as soon as possible. The Commission decided to use the system initially in a bye-election. Accordingly, the Conduct of Elections Rules, 1961, was amended and notified on 14 August, 2013, allowing for the use of VVPAT along with EVMs in elections, and it was first used on 4 September 2013 in a bye-election for 51-Noksen (ST) assembly constituency in Nagaland.Subsequently, it has been used successfully in ten assembly constituencies in Mizoram on 25 November 2013 and one constituency of Delhi on 4 December 2013 during general elections to Delhi assembly constituency. The Commission has now decided to gradually expand its use and has placed orders for procurement of 20,000 units of VVPAT.