The EVMs are produced indigenously and the software programme code is written in-house and not outsourced. Any attempt to replace microchip is detectable and can make EVM in-operative," it said."Not possible," it said.New Delhi: The EVMs are robust and tamper-proof and even the manufacturers cannot manipulate them at the time of production, the Election Commission said on Sunday, countering allegations that the machines are unreliable.The Commission also rejected suggestions that the machines can be manipulated by the manufacturer itself."Further, the ECI-EVMs are not computer controlled, are stand alone machines and not connected to the Internet or any other network.

Hence, there is no chance of hacking by remote devices..It said contrary to "misinformation and as alleged by some", India does not use any EVMs produced abroad. The EVMs have been manufactured in different years since 2006 and sent to different states.Moreover, adequate security measures and safeguards in their corresponding laws were not present.It also asserted that no trojan horse can be injected China plastic blow moulding machine into the EVM in the field.With the Oppositions questions on the reliability of the electronic voting machines getting louder, the Commission has come out with a list of frequently asked questions to put across its views in public domain. Hence the use of EVMs were struck down by their courts.

The manufacturers -- ECIL and BEL -- would not know several years ahead which candidate will contest from a particular constituency and what will be the sequence of the candidates on the ballot unit," it said.The M1 (model one) of EVM was manufactured till 2006 and had all necessary technical features that made it "non-hackable contrary to claims made by some activists", it said. In fact, the new M3 EVIN produced after 2013 have additional features like tamper detection and self diagnostics.It said due to different level of stringent checks and balances, neither ECI-EVMs can leave the EC system nor can any outside machine - non-ECI EVM - be inducted into the system.

 The self diagnostic feature checks the EVM fully every time it is switched on. also do not have any frequency receiver or decoder for data for wireless or any external hardware port for connection to any other non-EVM accessory or device.One of the first questions the FAQ addresses is whether the machine can be hacked? No, asserts the Commission.. The FAQs are the third attempt by the poll watchdog to counter the doubts on the machines reliability. It can detect "malicious sequenced key presses". Any change in its hardware or software will be detected. Hence no tampering is possible," the poll panel said.Why have developed nations such as the US and the European Union not adopted EVMs and some have discontinued?To this, the Commission said the problem faced with the machines in these countries was that they were computer controlled and connected to the network, which in turn, made them prone to hacking.Ruling out the possibility of manipulation of the machines at the place of storage, the Commission said security measures and double checks that such a possibility does not arise."Every microchip has an identification number embedded into memory and the producers have their digital signatures on them. So, the question of their replacement does not arise at all because microchips are subjected to functional tests with regard to the software.The M2 model of EVMs produced after 2006 and up to 2012 incorporated additional safety features."The programme is converted into machine code and only then given to the chip manufacturer abroad because we dont have the capability of producing semi-conductor microchips within the country.Recently, the Commission had issued two statements defending the machines.The tamper detection feature makes an EVM inoperative the moment anyone tries to open the machine.