In General Election to Lok Sabha 2019, around 30 crore electors (out of 91 crores) did not cast their votes. The voting percentage was 67.4%, which has concerned the Election Commission of India (ECI). It has taken it as a challenge to improve electoral participation in Lok Sabha elections 2024.
In order to improve voter outreach and awareness on their rights and electoral process, ECI today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) and the Department of Posts (DoP). Notably, ECI had recently signed an MoU with the Ministry of Education to formally integrate electoral literacy into the educational curriculum of schools and colleges. The MoU was signed today in the presence of Chief Election Commissioner, Shri Rajiv Kumar and Election Commissioner, Shri Arun Goel. Shri Vineet Pandey, Secretary, Department of Posts, Shri Sunil Mehta, Chief Executive, IBA and other officials from Department of Posts, IBA and ECI were present on the occasion.
As part of the MoU, IBA & DoP with its members and affiliated institutions/units will extend support in promoting voter education through their extensive network on a pro-bono basis, employing various interventions to empower citizens with knowledge about their electoral rights, processes, and steps for registration and voting.
The Indian Banks’ Association (IBA), formed on September 26, 1946, has a strong network of 247 members across the country. Public sector banks are in lead with 90,000+ branches and 1.36 lakh ATMs followed by 42,000+ branches of Private Sector Banks with 79,000+ ATMs. Regional Rural Banks contribute 22,400+ branches, while Small Finance & Payment Banks operate around 7000 branches and 3000+ ATMs. Foreign Banks maintain 840 branches and 1,158 ATMs, and Local Area Banks have 81 branches. The cumulative number of the branches are 1.63 lakh+ with 2.19 lakh+ ATMs across the country.
For more than 150 years, the Department of Posts (DoP) has been the backbone of the country’s communication. With more than 1,55,000 post offices, covering the entire country, has the most widely distributed postal network in the world.
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 did not cast their votes in General Election to Lok Sabha 2019. The voting percentage was 67.4%, which the Commission has taken as a challenge to improve upon.In order to improve voter education, Election Commission of India signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Indian Banks’ Association and the Department of Posts.){kind=link}