The Election Commission of India has launched the second iteration of its Electoral Literacy Clubs programme at a regional conference held in Chennai. The initiative, called ELC 2.0, aims to build awareness about India’s electoral system and democratic values among students across schools, colleges and universities.
The Chief Election Commissioner, Gyanesh Kumar, addressed the gathering and stressed that young citizens today will shape democracy tomorrow. He noted that Electoral Literacy Clubs across the country will strengthen India’s democratic foundations.
What ELC 2.0 offers
Electoral Literacy Clubs 2.0 operates under the tagline “Learn Democracy. Lead Democracy.” and reimagines these clubs as structured, digitally enabled platforms within educational institutions. The programme will use ECINet, the Election Commission’s digital platform that handles all services related to elections, to run year-round electoral literacy activities through a dedicated ELC portal.
The initiative targets India’s vast educational sector. The school system alone has approximately 15 lakh schools with nearly 25 crore students and over one crore teachers. Higher education comprises nearly 1,500 universities and around 70,000 institutions with around 4.33 crore enrolled students.
Through this network, ELC 2.0 will:
- Teach students about India’s electoral system, democratic values, voter registration and polling procedures
- Explain how the Election Commission functions and conducts elections
- Encourage young and first-time voters to participate meaningfully in democracy
- Share information about the ECINet App and other key Election Commission initiatives
What this means for you
If you are a student, your school or college may now have an Electoral Literacy Club where you can learn how India’s elections work and why democratic participation matters. The programme encourages young citizens to become informed voters and ambassadors for democratic engagement in your communities and families.