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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Soon, voter ID cards to get a sleek makeover -Bharti Jain

Soon, voter ID cards to get a sleek makeover -Bharti Jain

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published Published on Apr 18, 2013   modified Modified on Apr 18, 2013
-The Times of India


The humble elector's photo identity card - commonly called voter EPIC - is getting a sleek makeover. The laminated paper cutout, with a rather grainy black and white photograph, is set to transform into a shiny, plastic card with a colour photo of the voter, just like a driving licence.

"The plastic card will be more aesthetic and durable. It, will, however, not be a smartcard like the Aadhaar card. While the new voter will be issued the plastic EPIC free or cost, others can exchange their existing EPIC for its shinier avatar at a very reasonable cost. We expect the new EPICs to start rolling out in a couple of months," said a senior official of the Election Commission (EC).

The EC approved the new EPIC design on Tuesday, and is now discussing whether to source the new cards from a private firm or the government-run India Security Press in Nasik. While the former will require a tendering process, all that the EC needs to do to source the new EPIC from the Nasik press is to negotiate its price. Nirvachan Sadan sources indicated that new EPIC card may cost well under Rs 40.

The process of securing a new EPIC has also been made simpler. Voters can now either source it directly from the election authorities or any one of the one lakh common service centres - that are used to pay power and telephone bills - with whom the EC has entered into an MoU to outsource certain services.

At a time when the Aadhaar card has acquired a prominence, given its application for securing benefits like direct cash transfers, a new EPIC card is bound to raise questions of cost duplication and the need for multiple identification documents. EC officials, however, clarify that unlike Aadhaar cards, which are held by only 18 crore voters, nearly 75 crore voters must be covered by EPIC.

"There are many people in the country, especially in rural areas, who hold just one identification document - the EPIC card. Also, the Aadhaar card is issued to an ordinarily resident of the country...the holder can be citizen of a foreign country. EPIC, on the other hand, is issued only to Indian citizens, and it is they who are entitled to vote in an election," argued a Nirvachan Sadan official.

Incidentally, while Aadhaar cards are a recent phenomenon, EPICs started rolling out way back in 1995. In fact, when the UIDAI was still finalizing Aadhaar proposal, the EC had offered its database for the same. However, this was refused by UIDAI chief Nandan Nilekani, who insisted on the Authority capturing its own data.

"It is for the government to finally decide on a single identification document for all purposes...till then, we will continue issuing EPICs to each voter," an EC official said that the Commission would soon start issuing EPICs to voters in Assam and Nagaland, which were not covered so far.


The Times of India, 18 April, 2013, http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Soon-voter-ID-cards-to-get-a-sleek-makeover/articleshow/19606761.cms


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