ECIL expects 10-lakh VVPAT units order from EC

Electronics Corporation of India Limited expects the Election Commission to award it a contract to supply up to ten lakh Voter Verifiable Audit Trail (VVPAT) units, its Chairman and Managing Director, P Sudhakar said today.
"Volumes are substantial. We have been given an understanding (by Election Commission) that we need to make something around eight to ten lakh of these machines," he said on the sidelines of Cyber Space Defence Summit 2016, organised by Computer Society of India, Hyderabad Chapter.
The Election Commission has already given it a pilot order to supply 30,000 such units, Sudhakar said.
Chief Election Commissioner Nasim Zaidi recently said polling for the 2019 general elections would be conducted through VVPAT-based Electronic Voting Machines to "enhance transparency."

"We have reached a stage where people are demanding 100 per cent deployment of paper audit trail machines. We have preserved the secrecy (in this system) as well. Our plan is that by 2019, the whole country will be covered by paper audit trail machines. The budget for this has been committed now," he had said.
Sudhakar said ECIL is also building a new facility, with 60,000 square feet of built-up space, at Cherlapally here to manufacture "upcoming" products, including VVPAT units, and it is expected to be operational by July-end this year.

Asked about exports, he said ECIL-manufactured EVMs have been supplied to neighbouring countries, including Bangladesh and Nepal.

According to him, the company has received a lot of interest from African countries, and it is in the process of addressing that market.
EVMs have to be tuned and re-engineered to meet the requirements of such countries, he noted, adding, "It should be suited to their electoral system. Proof of concept has been shown to them and they have taken keen interest.