Applications
Abstract
Use of GIS by Election Commission of India
Rajesh Aggarwal
Director
Election Commission of India
New Delhi, India
Email: rajeshaggarwal@eci.gov.in
Abstract Election Commission has taken a number of IT initiatives in the last few years. Since last year, under the Electronic Election Data Initiative, it has opened up its databases. Entire country''s Electoral rolls, in 15 languages, are now available on the internet. As part of putting "Find my name in the lists, and then tell me my polling booth" service on the net, ECI has put GIS based maps of some cities on the net, with a good name and location search facility.
Parliament and Assembly boundary maps, with various kinds of readymade analysis, are also available on the Commission''s website www.eci.gov.in As part of "open databases" initiative, even the SHAPE files, with attribute tables, are available on the website for the public to download and generate their own maps. The delimitation exercise, of redefining the entire country''s parliament and assembly boundaries, using Census 2001 population data, is also being done using GIS village level maps rather than paper based maps. Since the Election Commission reaches every nook and corner of the country, it is believed that any countrywide GIS initiative by the Commission will spread the use and culture of GIS maps throughout the country in a big way.