New Delhi, May 4: In a significant step towards streamlining electoral services, the Election Commission of India (ECI) announced on Sunday that it is developing a comprehensive digital platform, ECINET, which will unify and reorient more than 40 of its existing mobile and web applications into a single, user-friendly interface.

Designed to serve electors and key stakeholders -- including election officials, political parties, and civil society -- ECINET aims to simplify electoral processes by offering an aesthetic and accessible User Interface (UI) alongside a seamless User Experience (UX).

"In a major initiative, the Election Commission of India is developing a new user-friendly digital interface for the electors and its other stakeholders," the Commission said in an official statement.

The one-stop platform will eliminate the need for users to manage multiple apps and logins and will facilitate easy access to electoral data through both desktop and mobile devices, according to the statement.

ECINET was conceptualised by Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar during the Conference of Chief Electoral Officers (CEOs) held in March 2025, attended by Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi.

The statement added that the ECINET initiative is positioned to subsume major existing applications such as the Voter Helpline App, Voter Turnout App, cVIGIL, Suvidha 2.0, ESMS, Saksham, and KYC App -- which collectively account for more than 5.5 crore downloads.

By doing so, the ECI said it aims to bring convenience to nearly 100 crore voters and the vast electoral machinery, including 10.5 lakh Booth Level Officers (BLOs), 15 lakh Booth Level Agents (BLAs) from political parties, around 45 lakh polling officials, 15,597 Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (AEROs), 4,123 Electoral Registration Officers (EROs), and 767 District Election Officers (DEOs) across the country.

ECINET will only feature data input by authorised ECI officials to ensure accuracy and reliability. In case of discrepancies, the primary data entered in statutory forms will remain the official source.

The platform will be fully compliant with the legal provisions of the Representation of the People Acts of 1950 and 1951, the Registration of Electoral Rules, 1960, and the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961, as well as with ECI's instructions.

Currently, in an advanced stage of development, ECINET is undergoing intensive trials to ensure usability, efficiency, and cybersecurity. The development process has included wide-ranging consultations with 36 state and union territory CEOs, 767 DEOs, and 4,123 EROs.

The team also reviewed 76 publications, amounting to nearly 9,000 pages of electoral regulations, instructions, and handbooks issued by the Commission over the years.

Once launched, ECINET is expected to set a new standard in digital governance and significantly enhance the electoral experience for every citizen and official involved in the democratic process.

(IANS)

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