EC, National Literacy Mission to work together

The Election Commission (EC) and the National Literacy Mission Authority (NLMA) will jointly work towards spreading awareness about electoral literacy, especially among the poor and deprived section of society.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Electoral Literacy and greater participation for stronger and inclusive democracy was signed between the two agencies Tuesday in this regard.

The NLMA comes under the ministry of human resource development.

"By signing this MoU, the two agencies have set an example of convergence. There is a need for electoral literacy in India," Minister of State for Human Resource Development Shashi Tharoor said here.

Tharoor stressed the need for such collaborations between various government departments and ministries to spread awareness.

The EC will provide technical training to the NLMA staffers who will educate people about the importance of their electoral franchise.

Hailing the joint effort, Chief Election Commissioner V.S. Sampath said that since the EC is always short-staffed, it is a welcome move.

While the NLMA will include electoral literacy for adult literacy and basic education, it will extend assistance to the electoral registration officers and the booth level officers to identify and enroll eligible voters.

"One of the objectives of this MoU is to have participatory democracy," said Jagmohan Singh Raju, director general of tne NLMA.

The Lok Sabha elections are due in May 2014.