New Delhi, Feb 10 (IANS): The Election Commission of India has informed that EVM-VVPAT is not connected to any network at any stage of the election process.

Symbol Loading Unit (SLU), designed specifically to load candidates' details onto VVPATs, is used during time of Commissioning (Preparation) in the presence of candidates or their representatives to load the details, said the Ministry of Law and Justice in a reply on Friday.

EVMs and VVPATs are randomised twice prior to the stage of Commissioning. SLU, a secure device belonging to the EVM/VVPAT system, loads contesting candidates' data like names, serial numbers and symbols into the VVPATs at the time of Commissioning, informed the Ministry.

The symbol or candidate details getting loaded onto VVPATs are also displayed in a real time basis on a bigger screen or monitor for the candidates and representatives to simultaneously verify. The Commissioning is carried out after the last date of withdrawal of the candidates, in the presence of candidates/their representatives. Only the authorised engineers of BEL or ECIL, the two PSU manufacturers of EVMs and VVPAT''s, are associated in the Commissioning process, said the reply.