Cvigil Mobile Application

UPSC Exam Preparation: Topic of the Day – cVIGIL Mobile Application

“cVIGIL” is a user-friendly and easy to operate Android application to report the violations of  Model Code of Conduct during the elections. The app was launched by the Chief Election Commissioner in July 2018. Upon successful completion of the trial, the application will be made available for general use, starting with the forthcoming Assembly elections in the States of Rajasthan, Mizoram, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. The practical use of the app during these Assembly polls would serve as a pilot initiative before it is put to extensive use during the 2019 General Elections.

How does the App work?

• cVIGIL will allow anyone in the election-bound state to report violations of Model Code of Conduct (MCC) that comes into effect from the date of announcement of elections and goes on till a day after the polls.
• With the help of this app, the citizens can quickly report on incidents of misconduct within a few minutes of having witnessed them. It also eliminates the burden of having to rush to the office of the returning officer to lodge a complaint.
• All that the complainant has to do is, click a picture or record a video of up to a maximum of two minutes’ duration of the scene of violations of the model code of conduct and upload the same, on the app.
• The location would be mapped automatically by the app with the help of  Geographic Information System.
• A Unique ID would be generated once the submission is successfully completed through the App. The citizen would also get follow up updates on his phone thereon. 
• Many incidents can be reported by the citizen and each time a unique ID for tracking the complaint would be generated. The identity of the complainant will be kept confidential.

• In order to prevent the misuse of the app, there are certain inbuilt features. The app will receive complaints only about the violations of the Model Code of Conduct.
• After having clicked a picture or a video, the user gets only 5 minutes to report the incident. 
• The app does not allow uploading of the pre-recorded or old images and videos, to prevent the misuse.
• The app does not facilitate the saving of the pieces of evidence recorded using the ‘cVIGIL’ app into the phone gallery.
• The application will be active only in those States where elections have been announced.
• The app shall become inactive the moment a citizen exits an election-bound State.

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