Revision summary
VVPAT prints a brief voter-visible slip and stores it as a paper backup to the EVM. The 2019 general election used VVPAT in all constituencies after Supreme Court-led rollout. Routine verification was limited to a small random sample per assembly segment. Full slip counting is possible but costly in time and dispute risk. VVPAT raises verifiability; it does not replace roll quality or campaign-finance reform.
Model answer
Introduction
VVPAT is a printer attached to the Electronic Voting Machine that shows the voter a slip of the chosen candidate for a few seconds and then drops it into a sealed box. Evaluation in general elections is about verifiability, not about a return to the old paper ballot as the primary vote.
Body
What VVPAT contributed
- After Supreme Court directions (notably Subramanian Swamy, 2013) the Election Commission rolled VVPAT out until the 2019 Lok Sabha poll used it in every constituency, giving the voter a visual check that the button matched the slip.
- The paper trail creates an auditable second record against allegations of wholesale electronic capture, which strengthened public argument that EVMs are not a black box.
- Counting remains EVM-first; slips are the backup that can be tallied if the prescribed statistical check or a court so requires.
Limits in use
- Mandatory verification was long only five randomly chosen polling stations per assembly segment (N. Chandrababu Naidu, 2019), which statisticians and some parties called too thin for a nationwide confidence interval.
- Full slip count of every machine would restore much of the delay and dispute culture of paper, which is why the Commission resisted 50 per cent or 100 per cent verification as a routine.
- Operational glitches, paper jams, and mock-poll slips left in the box have caused adjournments and distrust even when the design is sound.
- VVPAT does not by itself solve campaign-finance, booth capturing in the old physical sense, or the quality of the electoral roll.
Flow diagram
flowchart TD V[Voter presses EVM] --> S[VVPAT slip shown] S --> B[Slip falls in sealed box] E[EVM count] --> R[Result] B --> A[Sample or ordered slip count]
Conclusion
VVPAT improved the general election by giving each voter a short, visible confirmation and the system a paper backup. It is a partial audit tool, not a full recount machine; its value tracks how many slips are actually compared with the electronic tally, not the mere presence of the printer.
Quick related
Students also ask
-
Examine the constitutional position of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India.
Next question in the 2018 paper (Q10). View answer →
-
Does the voter take the VVPAT slip home?
No. The slip is only shown in the window and then drops into a sealed drop box for possible later count.
-
Did VVPAT replace EVMs in 2019?
No. The vote is still recorded on the EVM. VVPAT is the voter-visible and auditable paper trail attached to that machine.
PYQ trend
When UPSC asked this
Related PYQs from other years, newest first. Open a question to read it.
-
2024 · Q12 · UPGS2 · 12 marks
What are the implications of the revised appointment process of Election Commission for ensuring its independence? -
2022 · Q16 · UPGS2 · 12 marks
The concept of “One nation one election” has its own prospects and limitations in India. Examine. -
2020 · Q12 · UPGS2 · 12 marks
What are the problems faced by the Election Commission as an institution at present? Also mention solution for them. -
2020 · Q16 · UPGS2 · 12 marks
"Right to Information Act has forced civil servants to come out of steel frame and serve people sincerely." Explain. -
2019 · Q8 · UPGS2 · 8 marks
Critically examine the main elements of the Representation of People’s Act.
More from this paper
Q1 · UPSC Mains 2018 · UPGS2 · 8 marks
Why is India opposed to mediation on Kashmir?
Indian Constitution
India treats Jammu and Kashmir as an integral Union subject after accession in 1947. Simla 1972 and later bilateral texts require peaceful settlement without a mediator. Mediation would internationalise what New Delhi now frames as an internal constitutional and security issue. Pakistan is a counterpart for talks on terror and peace, not a co-sovereign over Indian territory. India therefore rejects UN, great-power, or other good-offices formulas that write a Kashmir settlement.
Q2 · UPSC Mains 2018 · UPGS2 · 8 marks
Critically examine the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice.
India and its neighbours
The ICJ is the UN’s principal judicial organ under the Charter and the ICJ Statute. Contentious cases lie only between states and only with consent via special agreement, treaty, or optional clause. The Court rules on its own jurisdiction, as in Jadhav under the consular Optional Protocol. Advisory opinions go to authorised UN organs and are not binding judgments. Enforcement depends on states and the Security Council; individuals are not on trial at the ICJ.
Q3 · UPSC Mains 2018 · UPGS2 · 8 marks
Throw light on the challenges and problems of farmers and the agriculture sector in Uttar Pradesh. Suggest measures for improvement.
Social sector services
Uttar Pradesh leads in foodgrain output but farm incomes stay low on tiny holdings and uneven water. Eastern floods and Bundelkhand droughts sit beside western groundwater stress and cane-payment delays. Paddy–wheat lock-in and thin mandi–FPO reach keep farmers as price-takers. Remedies are last-mile irrigation, statutory cane dues, FPO and e-NAM markets, and a shift to pulses, millets, milk, and processing. Land-lease clarity and working crop insurance must travel with those measures.
Toppers' copies
Toppers' copies for this question will be uploaded soon.