Nagaland and Assam first states to get Plastic Photo Identity Card

Nagaland and Assam became the first two states to be issued with Plastic Photo Identity Card for elections in India. It was announced by the Deputy Election commissioner Sudhir Tripathi in Kohima on 12 March 2014.

The voters of Nagaland and Assam will be using the cards for the first time in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. The Election commission decided to provide plastic Electors Photo Identity Card (EPIC) instead of laminated paper card to voters in India to avoid duplication and forgery.

The Plastic Photo Identity Card will be issued through the Common Service Centre of the central government's Information Technology department.

It has also declared Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Punjab and Tamil Nadu as the most expenditure sensitive states in the country. A committee has been constituted for the monitoring of election expenditure.

Also, Election Commission has set-up flying squad, static surveillance team and election expenditure monitoring committees to curb the use of money power during elections.