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Question 6 of 15 · Constitutional & Statutory Bodies
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Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) were used for the first time in India in May 1982 in which state?

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Answer: Option B — Kerala

Detailed Solution

Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) were used for the first time in India in May 1982, in the by-election to the Paravur (Parur) Assembly constituency in Ernakulam district, Kerala. They were used at 50 of the constituency's polling stations.

What happened next:

The election result was challenged in court. In 1984, the Supreme Court set aside the election held with EVMs, because the law at that time did not provide for the use of voting machines (the case of A. C. Jose v. Sivan Pillai).

Parliament then amended the Representation of the People Act, 1951, in 1988, adding Section 61A, which allows the Election Commission to use voting machines. The amendment came into force in March 1989.

EVMs were used on a larger scale in assembly elections in 1998 and, for the first time in all constituencies, in the 2004 Lok Sabha elections.

About EVMs:

  • They were developed and are manufactured by two public sector companies: Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), Bengaluru, and Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL), Hyderabad.
  • An EVM has two units: a Control Unit (with the polling officer) and a Balloting Unit (where the voter presses a button).
  • They run on batteries, so they can be used in areas without electricity.

VVPAT:

  • The Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) prints a slip showing the symbol and name of the chosen candidate, which the voter can see for about seven seconds.
  • VVPATs were first used in the Noksen Assembly constituency by-election in Nagaland in 2013.
  • They were used in all constituencies in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

NOTA:

The "None of the Above" (NOTA) option was added to EVMs in 2013, after a Supreme Court judgment (People's Union for Civil Liberties v. Union of India).

Other electoral facts:

  • The first general election in India was held in 1951-52.
  • The Election Commission of India was set up on 25 January 1950.

Why not the other options?

  • ✗Goa was among the states where EVMs were used across a whole state election early on (1999).
  • ✗Karnataka and Tamil Nadu used EVMs later.

Quick tip

Remember: first use of EVMs = Paravur (Ernakulam, Kerala), May 1982; Section 61A of the RP Act (1988); made by BEL and ECIL; first VVPAT = Noksen, Nagaland (2013); NOTA = 2013.

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Constitutional & Statutory Bodies — Preparation

This question tests your understanding of Constitutional & Statutory Bodies, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.

This topic covers bodies set up under the Constitution, such as the Election Commission, UPSC, Finance Commission, Comptroller and Auditor General and the national commissions for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, and statutory or executive bodies such as NITI Aayog, the NHRC, the CVC, the CBI and Lokpal. Questions often ask whether a body is constitutional or not, which article creates it, who appoints its head and for how long. For example, the CAG is appointed under Article 148, the Finance Commission under Article 280, and NITI Aayog replaced the Planning Commission in 2015 by an executive resolution. Practise the constitutional and statutory bodies questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.

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