Why in the news?

• The Election Commission (EC) has launched a new e-sign feature on its ECINet portal and app that requires those seeking to register as voters, or applying for deletion and corrections, to verify their identity using their Aadhaar-linked phone numbers.

ECINet Portal

• What is it?: ECINet is a unified digital platform being developed by the Election Commission of India (ECI).
• Aim: It aims to integrate and subsume over 40 existing mobile and web‐based applications related to electoral services — like Voter Helpline, cVIGIL, Suvidha 2.0, ESMS, Saksham, and KYC App.
• Features:
  • Single sign‐on / unified login: Users won’t need separate logins for multiple ECI apps. 
  • Data entry by authorized officials only: The platform ensures that only ECI‐recognized officials input or update critical electoral data. 
  • In case of conflict, statutory forms prevail: If there’s any discrepancy between data on ECINet and legally filled forms, the statutory (legally recognized) form data will take precedence. 
  • Cross‐platform access: ECINet is expected to be usable on both desktops and smartphones. 
  • Rollout in live elections/by-elections: ECINet has already been operationalized in some recent by-elections to test functionality.