The assurance comes on the eve of the General Elections to the Lok Sabha.
Replying to a query on whether tampering of EVMs was possible after polling, the ECI said polling officers press the ‘close’ button at the end of polling. “Thereafter, the EVMs do not accept any votes,” a 14-page affidavit said.
The presiding officer records the poll start and close timings in the machine.
“After the close of polling, the control unit is switched off and thereafter the ballot unit is disconnected from the control unit and kept separately in their carrying cases and sealed with paper slips on which the polling agents sign,” the ECI said.
A copy of the total votes is recorded in Form 17C (account of votes recorded) under the Conduct of Election Rules. “At the time of counting of votes, the total votes recorded in a particular control unit is tallied with the account of votes in Form 17C. If there is any discrepancy, the counting agents of the candidates can request the counting of VVPAT paper slips,” the affidavit explained.
The court was hearing petitions seeking cross-verification of 100% EVM votes with VVPAT paper slips. Currently, cross-verification of EVM-VVPAT happens only in five randomly selected polling booths in a constituency.
The ECI said there had been 41,629 instances of random verification till date. Over four crore VVPAT paper slips had been matched till date. There had not been a single instance of mismatch, the poll body claimed. The ECI, on Thursday, said it would take a whole hour to count VVPAT of a single polling station.
“On an average, 1,000 VVPAT slips are required to be counted per polling station… The small size and special nature of the paper makes the slips sticky. Manual counting of VVPAT slips is cumbersome at every step. The process cannot be expedited or hurried,” the ECI said.
The manual counting of VVPAT slips involved manifold steps, including the verification of the unique ID of the VVPAT, opening the VVPAT dropbox, taking out the slips, counting them, matching the slips with the total number of votes polled, segregation of VVPAT slips candidate-wise, making candidate-wise bundles of 25 slips, and counting the bundles and leftover slips. The ECI’s affidavit also provided a human perspective on why VVPAT slips’ counting cannot be hurried up.
“The overall environment in a counting centre is charged up and the counting personnel are under tremendous mental pressure. This is also a factor that affects the speed of counting of VVPAT slips,” the ECI said.
There were also instances of recounting and reverification of VVPAT slips till candidate-wise tallying was done. This would again consume time, the affidavit noted. The ECI assured that there could not be any “mismatch” between votes polled and votes counted.
“Votes are registered in the control unit only after receiving the confirmation from VVPAT about the print and fall of the VVPAT paper slips… There is a ‘fall sensor’ in the VVPAT. In case the slip is not cut or does not fall into the ballot box, the VVPAT shows ‘fall error’ and no vote is recorded in the control unit,” the poll body explained.
The ECI said that both electors and machines had increased from 2019 to 2024. Polling stations had gone up from 10.35 lakh in 2019 to 10.48 lakh in 2024.
Similarly, the votes polled had increased from about 61.4 crore in 2019 to 97 crore registered voters in 2024.
The ECI explained that EVMs were constituted of ballot units, control units and VVPATs. All three units were sealed in the presence of candidates or their agents and stored in strong rooms after elections for a period of 45 days, the time for filing election petitions. The ECI said there were 23.3 lakh ballot units in 2019 and their number was 21.6 lakh in 2024. The number of control units were 16.35 lakh in 2019 and 16.8 lakh in 2024. The VVPATs had increased marginally from 17.4 lakh in 2019 to 17.7 lakh in 2024.
Reports of EVMs showing ‘extra votes’ during mock poll in Kerala are false: ECI informs Supreme Court
The attention of a Bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta was drawn to the reports by advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for petitioner Association for Democratic Reforms. Bhushan said the four EVMs had reportedly malfunctioned in the mock polls held at Kasaragod district in Kerala on April 17.
The Bench had asked senior advocate Maninder Singh, appearing for the Election Commission, to “check it up”.
When the court re-assembled at 2 p.m., a senior Election Commission official, Nitesh Kumar Vyas, informed the court that the “news reports were false”.
“We have verified the allegation from the District Collector and it appears that they are false. We will submit a detailed report to the court,” he submitted.
Senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, appearing for another petitioner, Arun Kumar Agarwal, said they had merely alerted the court about the media reports. Their intentions were not adversarial. He said it was heard that formal complaints would be made only on April 18.
Justice Khanna said the petitioners had gone solely by the media reports and had not verified the issue personally. The Bench is hearing petitions seeking 100% cross-verification of EVM votes with VVPAT slips. The petitioners, including Association for Democratic Reforms, have urged the court to allow voters physical access to the VVPAT slips to confirm the votes they have cast before putting the slips into the sealed ballot boxes. They have contended that the voters have a fundamental right to be confident about the accuracy of the votes they have cast.
The petitioners have voiced their apprehensions that EVMs could malfunction or malicious software could be uploaded, favouring the registration of votes in favour of a party, possibly the ruling one.
One of the 17 Indian crew members of ship seized by Iran returns home
One of the seventeen Indian sailors aboard the Portugal-flagged MSC Aries that was detained by the Iranian authorities last weekend has returned home in Kerala, the Ministry of External Affairs has announced. Ann Tessa Joseph, a resident of Thrissur was welcomed at the Cochin International Airport by government officials when she arrived from Iran on April 18.
“Indian Mission in Tehran remains seized of the matter and is in touch with the remaining 16 Indian crew members of the container vessel. The crew members are in good health and in contact with their family members in India,” said the MEA in a press release informing that the MEA is trying to ensure well being of the Indian sailors in Iranian custody. The Iranian authorities had earlier claimed that the cargo vessel had “violated international maritime law”.
In the meanwhile, in an interview with The Hindu, Iran’s ambassador to India, Iraj Elahi said on April 18, “Indian sailors are not detained. They are at the disposal of the ship’s captain. We are in direct contact with the Indian Embassy in Tehran and the Indian citizens are in a very good condition. As far as we know, they haven’t been able to come to the beach yet due to the bad weather and stormy sea. They are free and can leave Iran whenever they like.”
On April 13, the ship was seized by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards who rappelled down from a helicopter on the ship and steered it towards an Iranian base. Israel’s Foreign Minister Israel Katz had described the Iranian move as “pirate operation” saying, “I call on the European Union and the free world to immediately declare the Iranian Revolutionary Guards corps as a terrorist organisation and to sanction Iran now.”
The Ministry of External Affairs swung into action after news spread that at least 17 Indian sailors were among the crew of the MSC Aries that is owned by London-headquartered Zodiac Maritime of Israeli billionaire Eyal Ofer. At the time of the incident, the vessel was chartered to Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) headquartered in Switzerland. The MEA had started dialogue with the Iranian authorities both through the Indian embassy in Tehran as well as the Iranian embassy here to free the Indian members of the crew.
Soon thereafter, External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar reached out to his counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and sought Tehran’s assistance in ensuring early release of the Indian crew members.
Interception of the MSC Aries added to the tension between Iran and Israel that subsequently led to the first ever drone and missile attack by Iran on multiple targets in Israel. By capturing the ship from the Strait of Hormuz, Iran had hinted that it had the military might to disrupt maritime traffic through the strategically important route in case of any further escalation in tension between Tehran and Tel Aviv. The incident is also an escalation to the ongoing Red Sea crisis. Since the beginning of the Israeli offensive in Gaza, Houthi rebels in Yemen have been targeting Israeli-linked commercial shipping on the high seas with ballistic missiles and drones.
Nestlé baby products sold in India, Africa, Latin America have higher sugar content than in Europe, tests show
Nestle’s baby food products sold in India, as well as in African and Latin American countries, have higher sugar content, in comparison to the same products sold in European markets, according to a report released recently by a Swiss NGO, the Public Eye and International Baby Food Action Network (IBFAN).
Around 150 baby products manufactured by the global food and beverage giant and sold in different countries were tested in a Belgian laboratory, according to IBFAN. It was found that all 15 Cerelac products for six-month-old babies, which are sold without any added sugars in the United Kingdom and Germany, contained 2.7 grams of added sugar per serving in India. Products sold in Ethiopia and Thailand contained nearly 6 grams, the report said.
Despite World Health Organisation recommendations that no added sugar be permitted in any food meant for children under the age of three years, Indian regulators do allow a limited amount of sucrose and fructose in baby food. In keeping with Indian rules, therefore, labels on Nestle’s baby products for the Indian market clearly show that they contain added sugar, though the company claimed that it has reduced the sugar content in these products over the last five years.
Nestlé India has reduced added sugars by up to 30%, depending on the variant, in its infant cereals portfolio, which includes milk cereal-based complementary food products, the company spokesperson said. Nestle sold over ₹20,000 crore worth of Cerelac products in India in 2022.
“We believe in the nutritional quality of our products for early childhood and prioritize using high-quality ingredients. We regularly review our portfolio and continue to innovate and reformulate our products to further reduce the level of added sugars without compromising on quality, safety, and taste,” Nestle India said.
Arun Gupta from the Breastfeeding Promotion Network of India (BPNI) said that children below the age of two years should not be given any additional sugar or salt in their diet. “This predisposes them to non-communicable diseases, the burden of which is growing in India. Our own government surveys have warned of the growing obesity volume among children. All regulatory organisations in India have advised against adding sugar and salt to processed baby foods in India,” he said.
He explained that regulations in India do allow the use of sucrose and fructose as a carbohydrate source, provided it makes up less than 20% of the carbohydrates in the food product. WHO has warned that the introduction of added sugar in baby foods can contribute to the development of addictive eating habits and a preference for sweet tastes from an early age. It also called on countries to reduce free sugar intake in children and adults to 10% of their total energy intake.
Hepatologist Cyriac Abby Philips, who debunks medical misinformation on social media under the moniker The Liver Doc, accused Nestle of “double standards” in his post on X.
‘’Nestlé baby food - Cerelac has global retail sales of above one billion U.S. dollars. The highest figures are in low- and middle-income countries, with 40% of sales just in Brazil and India,” he said. “Guidelines from the World Health Organisation (WHO) notes that to prevent obesity and chronic diseases, no added sugars or sweetening agents should be permitted in any food for children under three. But Nestlé, the world’s largest consumer goods company, adds sugar and honey to infant milk and cereal products sold in many poorer countries -- such as those in Asia, Africa and Latin America. Biscuit-flavoured cereals for babies aged six months and older contained 6g of added sugar for every serving in Senegal and South Africa, researchers found. The same product sold in Switzerland has none,” he said.
He added: “Nestlé has double standards for the Western market compared to the Asian market -- like children in the developing regions ‘inherently deserve less’ -- shameful, pathetic and disgusting. I think it’s time we got back to getting our nutrition, especially for our children, from locally sourced food sources, rather than depend on the ‘food industry’.”
Kejriwal eating mangoes, sweets despite type 2 diabetes to make grounds for bail, ED tells court
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, arrested in an excise scam case, is eating food high in sugar like mangoes and sweets every day despite having type 2 diabetes to create grounds for medical bail, the ED claimed before a court on April 18. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) made the claim before special judge for CBI and ED cases, Kaveri Baweja, who directed the Tihar jail authorities to file a report in the matter, including Kejriwal’s diet chart.
Kejriwal has moved the court seeking permission to consult his regular doctor via video conference because of fluctuating sugar levels. The judge directed the authorities concerned to file the report by tomorrow, when the court is likely to take up the matter again.
“Arvind Kejriwal is eating high sugar content food despite having type 2 diabetes. He is consuming ‘aloo poori’, mango, sweets, daily. This is being done to make grounds for medical bail,” the ED told the court.
The judge, meanwhile, sent Chanpreet Singh, who allegedly managed the Aam Aadmi Party’s funds in the 2022 Goa Assembly elections, to judicial custody till April 23 after he was produced before the court on expiry of his ED custody.
The ED has alleged a large part of the ₹100 crore the AAP received as kickbacks from the South Group was used for the Goa state polls.
The judge also extended till April 26 the judicial custody of AAP leader Manish Sisodia in the money laundering case linked to the alleged excise scam. The judge extended Sisodia’s custody after he was produced before the court through a video conference.
Sisodia’s co-accused and party colleague, Sanjay Singh, who was recently granted bail by the Supreme Court in the case, also appeared before the court through video conference.
Poll roundup
- Acting on the advice of the Election Commission of India (ECI), West Bengal Governor C V Ananda Bose on Thursday called off his proposed tour to Cooch Behar, during which he intended to “oversee” the polling process. He, however, alleged that an attempt was being made to “politicise the Governor’s office”, while asserting he would not allow anyone to use him as a “pawn on the political chess board”.
- Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti, National Conference’s (NC) Mian Altaf, and J&K Apni Party’s Zafar Manhas on Thursday filed their nomination papers for the Anantnag-Rajouri Lok Sabha seat. Mufti, who was accompanied by her supporters, urged voters “not to boycott this time”. “This election is not about electricity, water or roads. It’s about the post-2019 assault on J&K’s identity and pride. Our land, power project, and assets like minerals, sand, and lithium are being snatched from us. An attempt is being made to make us bonded labourers. We will stand against this assault,” the former J&K Chief Minister said.
In Brief
A major Ukrainian power company and the government on April 18 urged businesses to limit energy use during peak evening hours after a series of Russian strikes on the war-battered country’s electricity grid. Russian forces have renewed coordinated aerial attacks on Ukraine’s energy production facilities, including hitting a major power plant near the capital Kyiv last week. “Together with our colleagues, we are doing everything possible to ensure the reliable operation of the power system, but we desperately need your help,” the private operator DTEK said in a statement. “We ask businesses and all families to conserve electricity,” it added. The Energy Ministry issued the same plea, calling on Ukrainians living in private homes as well as industry to limit energy use for several hours each evening, citing damaged caused by Russian strikes.
Evening Wrap will return tomorrow.
