The National Voters’ Day has been celebrated on January 25 every year since 2011, to mark the ECI's foundation day in 1950

The country will celebrate the 11th National Voters' Day organized by Election Commission of India on January 25.

The theme for this year’s NVD, ‘Making Our Voters Empowered, Vigilant, Safe and Informed’, envisages active and participative voters during elections. It also focuses on ECI’s commitment towards conducting elections safely during the COVID-19 pandemic.

President Ram Nath Kovind will join virtually from Rashtrapati Bhawan as the chief guest at the main event being organised in Delhi. He will confer the National Awards for the year 2020-21 and launch ECI’s Web Radio:‘Hello Voters’.

Union Minister for Law and Justice, Communications and Electronics and Information Technology Ravi Shankar Prasad will be the Guest of Honour.

The National Voters’ Day has been celebrated on January 25 every year since 2011, to mark the ECI's foundation day in 1950. The aim is to encourage, facilitate and maximize enrolment, especially for the new voters.

"Dedicated to the voters of the country, the day is utilized to spread awareness among voters and for promoting informed participation in the electoral process. New voters are felicitated and handed over their Elector Photo Identity Card (EPIC) in the NVD functions," an official statement issued by the Election Commission of India said.

State and district level officers will be conferred with the National Awards for the Best Electoral Practices for their performance in the conduct of elections in different spheres such as IT initiatives, Security Management, Election Management during COVID-19, Accessible Election and contribution in the field of voter awareness and outreach.

According to the statement, national awards will also be given to important stakeholders like national icons, CSOs and media groups for their valuable contribution towards voters’ awareness.

ECI’s new online digital radio service which will stream voter awareness programmes will be accessible through a link on the Election Commission of India website. It will provide information and education on electoral processes through songs, drama, discussions, spots, and stories of elections in Hindi, English and regional languages from all over the country.

Prasad will launch the e-EPIC programme and distribute e-EPICs and Elector Photo Identity Cards to five new voters. Three publications of the Election Commission will also be released during the event.

These include a photo book, Conducting Election During Pandemic- A Photo Journey, which captures the conduct elections amidst a pandemic.

These elections include the biennial election to the Rajya Sabha, followed by the Legislative Assembly Elections in Bihar which was one of the biggest such exercises in the world during the pandemic. Bye-elections were also conducted for 60 constituencies in various states of the country.

Another publication, SVEEP Endeavours: Awareness initiatives during Lok Sabha Election, 2019, provides a detailed insight into voter awareness interventions, innovations and initiatives during the 17th General Election held in 2019.

The third is a comic book, 'Chalo Karen Matdaan', which aims at voter education in a fun and thought-provoking way. Targeting young, new and future voters, this comic contains interesting and relatable characters to educate voters at large on electoral processes, the statement said.