09.04.2024
Suvidha Portal
For Prelims:About Suvidha Portal ,About the Election Commission of India
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Why in the news?
The Election Commission recently said its Suvidha portal has received over 73,000 applications since the Lok Sabha polls were announced.
About Suvidha Portal:
- It is developed by the Election Commission of India (ECI) to ensure a level playing field upholding the democratic principles of free, fair and transparent elections.
- It streamlined the process of obtaining and acting upon requests for permissions and facilities from political parties and candidates during the election period.
- It caters to a diverse range of permission requests transparently on the First in First Out principle. Political parties and candidates can seamlessly submit permission requests online from anywhere, at any time. Offline submission options are available.
- It caters to permissions for organizing rallies, opening temporary party offices, door-to-door canvassing, video vans, helicopters, obtaining vehicle permits, distributing pamphlets.
- It is supported by a robust IT platform, managed by nodal officers across various state departments. It also has a companion app that enables applicants to track the status of their requests in real time.
- Furthermore, the permission data available on the portal serves as a valuable resource for scrutinizing election expenditures, contributing to greater accountability and integrity in the electoral process.
About the Election Commission of India:
- It is an autonomous constitutional authority responsible for administering Union and State election processes in India.
- It was established in accordance with the Constitution on 25th January 1950 (celebrated as National Voters' Day). The secretariat of the commission is in New Delhi.
- The body administers elections to the Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha, and State Legislative Assemblies in India, and the offices of the President and Vice President in the country.
- It is not concerned with the elections to panchayats and municipalities in the states. For this, the Constitution of India provides for a separate State Election Commission.
Source: The Times of India