Election Commission Of India
Official policy releases, schemes, circulars, and Prelims practice questions from Election Commission Of India distilled for UPSC Civil Services Examination.
🎯 Election Commission Of India UPSC Practice Questions
🎯 UPSC Prelims Practice Drill
In the election of the President of India, which category of representatives is NOT a part of the electoral college as per Article 55?
- [A] Elected members of the Lok Sabha
- [B] Elected members of State Legislative Assemblies
- [C] Nominated members of the Rajya Sabha
- [D] Elected members of the Legislative Assemblies of Delhi and Puducherry
▶ Reveal Official Answer & Analytical Explanation
The electoral college consists of elected MPs and elected MLAs of states and the UTs of Delhi and Puducherry. The text explicitly states that the 12 nominated members of the Rajya Sabha do not participate in the voting process, making option C correct. The other categories listed are all part of the electoral college.
🎯 UPSC Prelims Practice Drill
Consider the following statements regarding the Electoral Literacy Clubs (ELC 2.0) initiative recently in the news: 1. It is an initiative of the Election Commission of India aimed at promoting experiential electoral education among youth. 2. The initiative features the tagline 'Learn Democracy Lead Democracy' and utilizes the digital 'ECI Net' platform for year-round electoral literacy activities. 3. It intends to leverage India's educational network covering schools, higher education institutions, and millions of students to enhance first-time voter participation. Which of the statements given above are correct?
- [A] 1 and 2 only
- [B] 2 and 3 only
- [C] 1 and 3 only
- [D] 1, 2 and 3
▶ Reveal Official Answer & Analytical Explanation
All the statements are correct. The Election Commission of India organized the third regional conference on 'Electoral Literacy Clubs (ELC 2.0)' and 'ECI Net' to strengthen democratic awareness among youth. ELC 2.0 uses the 'Learn Democracy Lead Democracy' tagline, leverages India's vast educational network of over 15 lakh schools and 1,500 universities to engage over 25 crore students, and uses the digital ECI Net platform for year-round electoral literacy activities and enhancing first-time voter participation.
Official Policy Notifications & Dossiers
3 Briefs-
PRS
How votes are counted in Indian elections?
- The Election Commission of India (ECI) uses Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) systems to conduct and verify elections.
- The Returning Officer (RO) is responsible for conducting elections and managing vote counting in a constituency, operating under the direct supervision or in consultation with the ECI.
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THE HINDU
Obstacle race: On Special Intensive Revision exercise
- The Election Commission of India conducted a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise to clean electoral rolls, introducing new exclusion criteria such as 'logical discrepancies'.
- Nearly 13.4 crore electors, representing about 14% of the electorate before the revision, were removed from the draft rolls across 30 States and Union Territories.
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PRS
How India will elect its next President
- The President is elected by an electoral college of elected MPs and MLAs of the states and the Union Territories of Delhi and Puducherry, as prescribed in Article 55 of the Constitution.
- Each MLA’s vote value is based on the state’s 1971 population and the number of MLAs (e.g., UP MLA = 208, Sikkim MLA = 7); an MP’s vote value equals the total MLA vote value divided by the number of elected MPs, resulting in a value of 700 in 2022.