Bengaluru: Election Commission of India has introduced new ID with coloured and more authentic-looking Elector Photo Identity Cards, popularly known as EPIC.
The new-look EPIC will not only have the latest colour photograph of the voter, but will also have a host of new features, which will lend a unique touch to it. It will have many safety features.
The EC has decided to revamp the voter identity cards across the country to bring in uniformity and the exercise in Karnataka has commenced.
Karnataka Chief Electoral Officer Sanjiv Kumar said, “Citizens who have turned 18 and enroled will receive their cards on January 25.”
“The EPIC would be made using plastic material, and will be multi-layered. It will also have the hologram of the EC embossed and will also be having a distinct bar code for each Elector Photo Identity Card.”
The EC plans to further link the bar-coded voter ID card with the list having the relevant details of the voters (ranging from their names, addresses, date of birth among others). These details of the voters could then be retrieved for future purpose using bar code readers (commonly used in shopping malls to list the price of items at the billing counter).
“The Election Commission of India has fixed the cost of this ID card at Rs 30, but we are trying to make it as cheaper as possible,” he said and added that as soon as the Form-6, which pertains to registration of a new voter is approved, the digital signature of the electoral registration officer would soon appear on the EPIC.
He said, “Citizens who already have a black and white card and want to get a new voter ID card can expect to see the new card within a minimum of 15 days. The time frame can also exceed that limit depending on the case.” (UNI)