Election Commission's role now part of NCERT Class 9 social science textbook

The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has introduced a new section on electoral roll revision and the role of the Election Commission in its revised Class 9 Social Science textbook.

The updated content comes at a time when the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls has drawn attention following criticism from Opposition parties.

The textbook describes India's electoral process as "unparalleled" and explains that the Election Commission is responsible for conducting free and fair elections, preparing electoral rolls and enabling citizens to participate in the democratic process.

A newly added section explains the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls as a process to update, verify and correct voter lists.



According to the textbook, the exercise aims to ensure that every eligible voter is included while removing ineligible entries from the rolls.

The chapter says the revision helps add citizens who have recently turned 18 and removes names because of death, change of residence, duplicate enrolment or other discrepancies.

It also explains that claims and objections are invited before the final electoral roll is published, describing this as an important safeguard to improve the accuracy of voter lists.

Apart from electoral roll revision, the chapter introduces students to key features of India's election system, including Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), the Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT), the Model Code of Conduct and voter awareness campaigns.