25 per cent of young voters in India doubt EVM’s credibility: Survey

Agencies

March 29, 2019

New Delhi, Mar 29: About 25 per cent of young Indian voters are doubtful of the authenticity of the electronic voting machine (EVM), according to a new survey by news app Inshorts.

An overwhelming 85 of the participants in the survey said voting should be made compulsory.

"Nowadays, people are aware about their rights and consider voting a responsibility as citizens," Inshorts CEO Azhar Iqbal said in a statement.

The survey is based on responses from two lakh Inshorts subscribers across the country in March.

The majority of participants were from Delhi/NCR, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Pune, Hyderabad and Chennai. The participants mainly represent urban millennials, aged between 18 to 35 years.

Over 46 per cent Indian voters think that option of NOTA (None of The Above) is not functioning well to bring out the purpose of voting, the study showed.

As high as 45 per cent of voters in the survey cited that they will not be traveling back for elections if away from their home towns, indicating how big the issue of "lost votes" is in the country.

More than 50 per cent of the voters residing in Delhi/NCR will not be going back to their home towns for elections, as per the survey.

The same trend was observed in other cities too, such as Mumbai (47 per cent) and Pune (45 per cent).

While 85 per cent Indian voters said that voting should be made compulsory but only 63 per cent cast their votes every time without fail.

Three-fourths of Indian voters stated in the survey that they do extensive research about each candidate before voting for them to win from their constituency.

Comments

Add new comment

Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.

QR-code tips power Mangaluru's major drug bust: 25 arrested in 2 weeks

News Network

December 16,2025

Mangaluru, Dec 16: The Mangaluru City police have significantly escalated their campaign against drug trafficking, arresting 25 individuals and booking 12 cases under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act between November 30 and December 13. The crackdown resulted in the seizure of a substantial quantity of illicit substances, including 685.6 grams of MDMA and 1.5 kg of ganja.

The success of this recent drive has been significantly boosted by the city’s innovative, QR code-based anonymous reporting system.

"The anonymous reporting system has received an encouraging response. Several recent arrests were made based on inputs received through this system, helping police tighten the noose around drug peddlers," said the City Police Commissioner.

The latest arrests contribute to a robust year-to-date record, underscoring the police's relentless commitment to combating the drug menace.

Up to December 14 this year, the police have registered a total of 107 cases of drug peddling, leading to the arrest of 219 peddlers. Furthermore, they have booked 562 cases of drug consumption, resulting in the arrest of 671 individuals.

The scale of the seizure for the year reflects the magnitude of the problem being tackled: police have seized 320.6 kg of ganja worth ₹88.7 lakh and 1.4 kg of MDMA valued at ₹1.2 crore. Other significant seizures include hydro-weed ganja worth ₹94.7 lakh and cocaine worth ₹1.9 lakh, among others.

The Commissioner emphasized a policy of rigorous enforcement: "We ensure that peddlers are caught red-handed so that they cannot later dispute the case or claim innocence."

To counter the rising trend of substance abuse among youth, the Mangaluru City police have rolled out uniform guidelines for random drug testing across educational institutions.

As part of the drive, tests were conducted in approximately 100 institutions, screening an estimated 5,500 to 6,000 students in the first phase. 20 students tested positive for drug consumption during the initial screening.

Students who tested positive have been provided counselling and are scheduled for re-testing in the second quarter. The testing will also be expanded to students not covered in the first phase. In a move to ensure strict implementation, police personnel were deployed in mufti in some institutions. Reiterating a zero-tolerance stance, the Commissioner confirmed that random testing will continue, and colleges have also been instructed to conduct drug tests at the time of admission to deter substance abuse from an early stage.

Comments