In a democracy, the voter list is more than just a register – it’s the foundation of representation, resource allocation and public trust.

As India approaches its 2026 elections, the integrity of this foundation is under intense scrutiny. Recent controversies over duplicate and ineligible entries have raised urgent questions about who truly gets counted, and what happens when the system fails to reflect the real population. The stakes are high: inaccurate voter rolls don’t just distort elections – they undermine welfare delivery, skew regional development and erode confidence in governance.

The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls is now at the heart of this debate, promising to clean up the data that shapes India’s political and economic future (PIB, 2025).

The SIR, initiated by the Election Commission of India in 2025, is a comprehensive effort to update and verify voter lists ahead of the 2026 elections. Conducted in phases across states and union territories, SIR aims to remove ineligible or duplicate entries, add eligible voters, and ensure that the rolls accurately reflect the current electorate. The process involves door-to-door surveys, digital verification, and extensive public awareness campaigns to encourage citizens to update their details or register as new voters. SIR operates under the Representation of the People Act, 1950, and the Representation of the People Act, 1951, which empower the Election Commission to revise electoral rolls and ensure their accuracy. The exercise also includes mechanisms for public scrutiny and appeals, allowing citizens to challenge or correct entries in the draft rolls (Shubhi, 2025). By addressing longstanding issues such as duplicate entries, inclusion of ineligible voters, and exclusion of eligible citizens, SIR seeks to enhance the integrity and credibility of the electoral process.

Why Electoral Integrity Matters for Economic Growth?

Voter rolls are not just a tool for democracy – they function as a critical economic institution, shaping how resources are allocated, how corruption is curbed, and how public trust is maintained. Accurate electoral data ensures that government programs, subsidies, and welfare schemes reach the intended beneficiaries, minimizing leakages and enhancing efficiency in public spending. When electoral rolls are credible, they also foster investor confidence by signalling transparent and stable governance, which is essential for long-term economic growth and social stability. Scholarly research has established that inclusive political institutions, supported by reliable electoral systems, are foundational for sustained economic development and broad-based prosperity (Acemoglu & Robinson, 2012). 

Lessons from Around the World: Electoral Reforms in Practice

Electoral roll reforms have shaped the way countries manage their democratic processes. In the UK, the 2022 reforms to the annual canvass and the wider Modern Electoral Registration Programme shifted much of the system towards data-matching with tax and welfare records, targeted reminders, and online registration, which helped keep registers relatively accurate while cutting the cost and burden of blanket door-to-door checks, but there are still concerns about whether everyone, especially those who move frequently or live in marginalised communities gets included. (Electoral Registration in Great Britain in 2022, UK Electoral Commission, 2023). Estonia offers a different model; since 2005 it has gradually expanded nationwide internet voting, backed by a population wide digital ID, end-to-end verifiable cryptographic protocols, and regular independent security audits; by the 2023 Riigikogu elections, more than half of all ballots were cast online without evidence of large-scale fraud (ERR News, 2023). These experiences show that while reforms can make elections fairer and more inclusive, getting the details right is key to avoiding unintended consequences.

 Inclusion Beyond Voting: Electoral Rolls as Gateways to Social and Economic Access

 Accurate and inclusive electoral rolls are crucial for addressing regional disparities and promoting equitable growth, but challenges arise when ineligible residents strain public resources.

 For example: In West Bengal, the presence of a significant number of Rohingya refugees, many without legal status, has sparked debates about their impact on local resources and voter rolls. The Supreme Court of India has highlighted concerns that undocumented migrants potentially divert scarce public services away from citizens, particularly impoverished communities, intensifying regional inequalities (TOI, 2025).

 Economically, the cost of supporting Rohingya refugees is substantial. In Bangladesh, the United Nations estimates that supporting over a million Rohingya refugees requires nearly $255 million annually, with only 35% of that appeal funded as of 2025, leading to severe cuts in food, healthcare, and education for refugees. In India, while there are no official refugee camps, the presence of Rohingya in West Bengal and other states places additional pressure on local welfare schemes (Reuters, 2025). For example, West Bengal’s 2025-26 budget allocated Rs 1.18 lakh crore for gender-specific schemes and Rs 59,000 crore for child welfare, but the inclusion of undocumented migrants in these schemes is a contentious issue and could potentially divert resources meant for eligible residents (Rediff, 2025).

 Additionally, the broader fiscal impact is seen in the overall state expenditure. West Bengal’s total projected expenditure for 2024-25 was over Rs 3.36 lakh crore, with a significant portion directed towards social services and welfare (Chakrabarty et al., 2025). When ineligible populations are included in voter rolls, there is a risk that funds for essential public services such as healthcare, education, and housing are stretched thin, impacting the quality and reach of these services for genuine residents. This not only affects regional equity but also raises concerns about the efficient allocation of public funds and the sustainability of welfare programs in the face of growing demographic pressures. The SIR offers a vital opportunity to address such challenges by ensuring that only eligible residents are included, helping to protect scarce public resources and promote more equitable regional development.

 Transparent and accurate electoral rolls are also essential for broader social and financial inclusion. Being registered as a voter often serves as a gateway to accessing welfare schemes, opening bank accounts, and obtaining government-issued IDs. When electoral reforms like SIR are implemented with clear grievance redressal mechanisms, they help prevent exclusion errors and ensure that marginalized communities can participate fully in both the democratic and economic life of the country.

 Electoral Integrity as Part of a Wider Integrity Transition

 A recent study in the International Review of Economics & Finance examines whether “integrity transitions” – comprehensive anti-corruption and governance reforms translate into higher growth (Liu & Liu, 2025). Using panel data for multiple countries, the authors find that improvements in institutional integrity are associated with faster GDP growth, mainly because cleaner systems reduce rent-seeking, improve the efficiency of public spending, and encourage investment. If SIR manages to tighten electoral integrity and curb opportunities for misuse of public resources, it can be seen as part of this broader “integrity transition”, with similar potential payoffs for growth and investment in India.

 Electoral integrity is one of the main ways in which integrity transitions show up in day-to-day governance. When elections are run on the basis of accurate rolls, clear rules, and effective oversight, it becomes harder to rely on tactics like ghost voters, fake turnout, or diverting public funds to secure outcomes. Over time, cleaner elections are associated with lower perceived corruption and more predictable policy, which gives citizens and firms stronger reasons to trust institutions, comply with rules, and commit capital to long-term projects. In that sense, efforts like SIR are not just about who wins the next election, but about whether Indian voters and investors can believe that the basic rules of the game are fair and consistently applied.

 SIR’s High-Stakes Stress Test for India’s Economic Democracy

 Even as SIR promises cleaner rolls and better governance, the risks are real. Past revision drives in India and elsewhere have shown that aggressive deletion campaigns can disproportionately affect poor, migrant, minority, and young voters, especially where documentation is patchy or field staff are under-trained (Dey, 2025). Implementation failures, errors in data entry, limited publicity, and weak grievance redress can turn a technical exercise into a source of disenfranchisement and political controversy, undermining precisely the trust SIR is meant to rebuild. This is why transparency in criteria and data, local consultation, and a credible, accessible appeals process are not add-ons but core requirements for the exercise to be seen as legitimate.

 SIR is effectively a stress test for India’s “economic democracy”: whether the state can use data to improve representation, target public spending better, and curb misuse of resources without excluding those already on the margins. The key indicators to watch will be how transparently roll changes are published, how many deletions are successfully appealed, what happens to turnout in vulnerable districts, and whether independent audits and civil society reports converge with official claims. If SIR delivers cleaner, more inclusive rolls while passing these tests, it will not just tidy up an administrative list; it will strengthen the institutional foundations on which both Indian democracy and India’s growth story rest.

References

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  2. Desk, R. M., accuracy, K. D.-T. article is from a syndicated feed T. original source is responsible for, views, & Limited, content ownership V. expressed may not reflect those of rediff com I. (n.d.). West Bengal Budget 2025-26: Rs 1.18 Lakh Crore for Gender Schemes. Rediff. Retrieved December 8, 2025, from https://money.rediff.com/news/market/west-bengal-budget-2025-26-rs-1-18-lakh-crore-for-gender-schemes/22167120250212
  3. Dey, A. (2025, November 24). SIR: India’s voter roll revision is worrying migrant workers. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c8jrzgn0nj9o 
  4. Electoral registration in Great Britain in 2022 | Electoral Commission. (2023, March 30). https://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/research-reports-and-data/electoral-registration-research/electoral-registration-great-britain-2022
  5. ERR, E., ERR News |. (2023, March 6). Online voting: How Estonia counts, and secures, its electronic votes. ERR. https://news.err.ee/1608906230/online-voting-how-estonia-counts-and-secures-its-electronic-votes
  6. Illegal migrants have no legal rights, says SC. (2025, December 3). The Times of India. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/illegal-migrants-have-no-legal-rights-says-sc/articleshow/125728314.cms
  7. Liu, B., & Liu, J. (2025). Did the integrity transition promote economic growth? Empirical research based on the perspective of anti-corruption approaches. International Review of Economics & Finance, 101, 104156. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iref.2025.104156
  8. Poidevin, O. L. (2025, July 11). Support for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh risks collapse, UN refugee agency says. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/support-rohingya-refugees-bangladesh-risks-collapse-un-refugee-agency-says-2025-07-11/
  9. Shubhi. (2025). SIR 2025: Electoral Roll Revision Guidelines for 12 States and UTs. SCC Times. https://www.scconline.com/blog/post/2025/10/29/sir-2025-electoral-roll-guidelines/
  10. Special Intensive Revision (SIR) Phase-II begins in 9 States and 3 UTs. (n.d.). Retrieved December 5, 2025, from https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2186480&reg=3&lang=2
  11. Chakrabarty, T., PRS Legislative Research, Institute for Policy Research Studies, & Finance Minister of West Bengal, Ms. Chandrima Bhattacharya. (2025). West Bengal Budget Analysis 2025-26. https://prsindia.org/files/budget/budget_state/west-bengal/2025/West_Bengal_Budget_Analysis_2025-26.pdf