Chief Election Commissioner Nasim Zaidi on Saturday announced that all future elections, including that of Himachal Pradesh assembly, would be held with Voter-Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) machines. "India would be the first country to use them...VVPAT machines would boost the voters' confidence," he added. In paper trail machines, voters get a printed proof of the vote they cast.\
The Election Commission has issued letter of intent for purchase of 16.15 lakh Voter-Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) machines, following a clearance by the Union Cabinet on fund allocations.
The machines will be procured in 2017-18 and 2018-19 at an estimated cost of ₹3,173.47 crore from public sector undertakings BEL and ECIL.
“In its letter sent to CMDs of ECIL and BEL on Friday, the commission has communicated its intent for purchase 8,07,500 VVPATs from each of the PSUs by September 2018,” said an EC note.