New Delhi [India], May 4 (ANI): In a significant step towards streamlining electoral services, the Election Commission of India (ECI) will be launching a single-point digital platform called ECINET to integrate the commission's 40 existing mobile and web applications, the ECI said on Sunday.

The ECI said that the platform will be offering a seamless and user-friendly interface for electors, election officials, political parties, and civil society.

The initiative, envisioned by Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar during the March Conference of Chief Electoral Officers, aims to simplify user experience (UX) and enhance user interface (UI) by consolidating apps like the Voter Helpline, Voter Turnout, cVIGIL, Suvidha 2.0, ESMS, Saksham, and KYC App, which have collectively recorded over 5.5 crore downloads. "ECINET will subsume existing Apps like the Voter Helpline App, Voter Turnout App, cVIGIL, Suvidha 2.0, ESMS, Saksham and KYC App, which together have clocked over 5.5 crore downloads," the ECI said in a release.

The ECI also noted that the ECINET will serve nearly 100 crore electors, support the electoral machinery, and eliminate the need for multiple app downloads and logins, reducing users' complexity.

"ECINET is expected to benefit nearly 100 crore electors and the entire electoral machinery comprising over 10.5 lakh Booth Level Officers (BLOs), around 15 Lakh Booth Level Agents (BLAs) appointed by Political Parties, nearly 45 Lakh Polling Officials, 15,597 Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (AEROs), 4,123 EROs and 767 District Election Officers (DEOs) across the country," it said.

"ECINET has already reached an advanced stage of development and rigorous trials are being conducted to ensure smooth functionality, ease of use, and robust cybersecurity measures," it added.

The platform was developed after extensive consultations with 36 Chief Electoral Officers, 767 DEOS, 4,123 EROS, and a review of 76 ECI publications spanning 9,000 pages. It is currently undergoing rigorous trials to ensure functionality, ease of use, and robust cybersecurity.

"It is being developed after an elaborate consultative exercise involving 36 CEOs of all the States/UTs, 767 DEOs and 4,123 EROs of their States/UTs and after reviewing 76 publications comprising 9,000 pages of the electoral framework, instructions and handbooks issued by ECI from time to time. The data provided through ECINET will be strictly aligned within the legal framework established by the Representation of People Act 1950, 1951, Registration of Electoral Rules, 1960 Conduct of Election Rules, 1961 and instructions issued by ECI from time to time," the ECI said.

ECINET, in its advanced stage of development, is poised to revolutionise electoral service delivery, enhancing convenience and efficiency for all stakeholders.