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Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) were used in all constituencies throughout India for the first time in the general election of:
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Answer: Option C — 2004
Detailed Solution
In the 14th Lok Sabha general election held in 2004, Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) were used in all 543 parliamentary constituencies across India for the first time. More than 10 lakh EVMs were used. Since then, all Lok Sabha and state Assembly elections in India have been held using EVMs, and paper ballots are used only in special cases such as postal ballots.
History of EVMs in India:
- 1982: EVMs were used for the first time in the Paravur Assembly by-election in Kerala, at 50 polling stations.
- 1984: the Supreme Court set aside that election because the law did not provide for EVMs.
- 1988: Parliament amended the Representation of the People Act, 1951, adding Section 61A to allow the use of voting machines.
- 1998: EVMs were used in 16 Assembly constituencies in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Delhi.
- 1999: EVMs were used in 45 Lok Sabha constituencies, and Goa became the first state to use EVMs in all its Assembly constituencies.
- 2004: EVMs were used in all Lok Sabha constituencies.
2013: VVPAT (Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail) was used for the first time, in the Noksen constituency of Nagaland. NOTA ("None of the Above") was also introduced in 2013.
2019: VVPATs were used with all EVMs in the Lok Sabha election.
Advantages of EVMs:
- Faster counting of votes and quicker results.
- No invalid votes.
- Less use of paper, which saves trees.
- They prevent "booth capturing" by limiting the number of votes that can be cast per minute (about 4-5).
- They are made by Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), Bengaluru, and the Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL), Hyderabad.
- The Election Commission of India, set up on 25 January 1950 (celebrated as National Voters' Day since 2011), conducts elections to Parliament, state legislatures, and the offices of President and Vice-President.
Why not the other options?
- ✗1999 saw EVMs in 45 Lok Sabha seats and all of Goa's Assembly seats.
- ✗1998 saw EVMs in 16 Assembly constituencies.
- ✗2009 was the second general election fully on EVMs.
Quick tip
Remember: EVMs in all Lok Sabha seats = 2004; first use = Paravur, Kerala (1982); VVPAT first = Noksen, Nagaland (2013); National Voters' Day = 25 January.
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Firsts in India & World — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of Firsts in India & World, 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 the first persons and events in India and the world: the first Indian to win a Nobel Prize, the first woman to hold major offices, the first to climb Everest or reach space, and India's first institutions, newspapers, railways and satellites. It also covers the largest, longest, highest and smallest records in India and the world. These are pure memory questions, so revise them as short lists by theme: first women, first in sports, first in science and space, and first in governance. Be careful with the exact wording, such as 'first Indian' versus 'first person of Indian origin', or 'first woman President' versus 'first woman Prime Minister', since options are often designed to exploit this. Practise the firsts in India and the world 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.