Smooth management through effective intervention of ICT-enabled applications The development of IT applications for election management has automated the work of the Election Commission of India (ECI), thereby speeding up operations and enhancing efficiency. NIC Tirap has helped District Authorities utilize the applications developed by ECI to conduct elections at such a remote and difficult terrain. elections form the bedrock of the largest democracy in the world i.e. India. Democratic nations conduct elections where people have a say on the kind of government that will safeguard all their interests and aspirations. Elections held in 2019 have, therefore, been truly dubbed as “Desh Ka Mahatyohar” - the Country's Greatest Festival. For the smooth conduct of Simultaneous Elections 2019, NIC Tirap District Centre was assigned with the task of leading the management of ICT operations by using several applications developed by the Election Commission of India (ECI). ICT Applications Employed for Elections The following ICT initiatives of ECI were utilized in Tirap for efficient management of the Simultaneous Elections 2019: Suvidha A single-window clearance system, Suvidha portal enables handling of various permissions related to campaigning, uploading nomination details and affidavit as well as feeding real-time vote counting details on the counting day for Trends and Results Dissemination. NIC Tirap was entrusted with the management of different aspects of portal during elections. As part of the work, training on the workflow and working of the portal was provided to the Returning Officers and the Data Entry Operators. On the counting day, live vote count was entered in the portal. EVM Management System (EMS) ECI launched the EVM Management System to manage inventory and tracking of EVM units. It handled different election activities like marking First Level Check (FLC), randomization (first and second) etc. NIC Tirap successfully completed the FLC OK marking, randomization, scanning through the dedicated EMS App, generating different reports etc. C-Vigil The C-Vigil Mobile App was launched by ECI to enable citizens to report on violation of the election code of conduct. A citizen can click a picture or record a video of up to two minutes of the incident of violation of the model code, and upload it using the App. The photo or video is then subsequently processed by the election machinery, and the citizen is informed about the action taken within hundred minutes. NIC Tirap was entrusted to train different officers involved in the process. A District Control room was set up with dedicated manpower to track and coordinate different complaints from the users. ETPBS The Electronically Transmitted Postal Ballot System (ETPBS) enables entitled service voters to cast their vote using an electronically received postal ballot from anywhere outside their constituency. NIC Tirap took a leading role in the execution of different technical aspects of the system. The system was updated with the electronically generated Ballot Papers which were approved by the Returning Officers and ETPBS PINs were generated. A dedicated team of IT staff was trained by the DIO, Tirap for scanning ETPBS on the counting day. Pollstar Pollstar is an innovative and versatile platform which was used for collection of different polling day related data from the Presiding Officers during the Simultaneous Elections 2019. NIC Tirap provided hands-on training to the Presiding and Polling Officers. Polling Personnel Randomization The Elecon software of NIC Bihar, which was customized to suit the requirement of Arunachal Pradesh, was used for the first, second and third randomization of the polling personnel. DIO, NIC Tirap, carried out randomizations in presence of the General Observer and the Returning Officers. Appointment letters were also generated through the software. Other Activities The following additional tasks were also assigned to NIC Tirap: ••District Level Media Certification ••and Monitoring Committee ••Media & SMS Monitoring Committee ••Video Viewing Team ••Video Conferences ••Assignment of DIO as master trainer for ERONET/ BLONET ••Assignment of DIO as District Contact Officer for 1950, voter helpline ••Live webcasting for five polling booths ••GPS tracking of vehicles belonging to ••the Sector Magistrates, Sector Officers ••Devising MS Excel based solution ••for carrying out randomization of ••the Counting Staff ••Creating LAN and providing ••NIC- ••NET support to election office ••and ••counting hall DIO, NIC Tirap, was appointed as the Nodal Officer for ICT works, and therefore, he extended full cooperation during the conducting of Simultaneous Elections 2019. Technical support was provided by the Field Support Staff (FSE) of NIC Tirap in every minute aspect of the entire process. Summary ECI has launched a number of different IT applications to streamline the election process. NIC Tirap played a crucial role behind successful implementation of the IT initiatives on the ground, thereby ensuring complete support during elections in this remote District of Arunachal Pradesh. The support extended by NIC Tirap in the entire phase of Elections 2019 has been appreciated by the District Administration. Shri Rakesh Das, DIO, NIC Tirap, has been awarded a ‘Certificate of Appreciation’ by the Deputy Commissioner, Tirap District, or his dedication and sense of duty.