Election Commission of India on Monday launched the digital/electronic version of the voter identity card under its Electronic Electoral Photo Identity Card (e-EPIC) program.
Starting today, voters both new and already registered can download an electronic version of their Electors Photo Identity Card (EPIC), also known as the voter ID.
While addressing the Election Commission of India’s National Voters Day celebrations virtually, President Ram Nath Kovind said “he would like to remind that we should always respect the valuable right to vote. The right to vote is not a simple right; people around the world have struggled a lot for this”, a Rashtrapati Bhavan statement said.
Earlier in the event, Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad handed out Electors Photo Identity Cards (EPICs) and the digital versions, e-EPICs, to a handful of newly-enrolled electors.
The e-EPICs will be made available to old and new voters in two phases. The first phase, from January 25 to January 31, would see the rollout of e-EPICs for newly registered voters, specifically those who have not previously appeared in any electoral roll. The second phase will start from February 1, for those who have voted in previous polls.
Voters can access an electronic version of their EPIC either by logging on to voterportal.eci.gov.in or www.nvsp.in. The IDs can also be accessed from the Voter Helpline App, which is available for both Google and Apple play stores. It will eventually be made available on digital locker applications.
Newly registered voters who are yet to be issued their physical card will require only their registered mobile number mentioned in their Form 6 to access their e-voter ID. Meanwhile, registered voters will need to input both their mobile number and voter ID number to access the e-voter ID saved in the PDF format.
Introduced in 1993, the elector photo identity cards are accepted as proof of identity and address.