 India, where 1.3 billion souls breathe the air of freedom. Where nearly 17% of the world population reside in peaceful coexistence. Where colours mingled into a message of love. Where all religions live together in harmony. Where people are passionate about Bollywood, cricket and politics. Where the economy is flourishing with unmatched pace. Where festivals are a celebration of life. The vibrant and the largest democracy on the planet is getting set for the biggest festival of all. The festival of democracy. To renew our commitment to hold free and fair elections. The Indian general elections. To constitute the 17th Lok Sabha will be held from 11th April to 19th May 2019. From the remotest to the busiest. From the hottest to the coldest. From the mountains to the shores. 900 million citizens more than the combined population of Europe will exercise their right to vote and come together to elect a government of their choice. 15 million eligible voters are voting for the first time this year. India has seen smooth transfer of power. Each time since the first elections in 1951. India has also introduced universal adult suffrage from the very beginning. An election process open to all. Without any restrictions of gender, caste, religion or economic situation. 543 parliamentary constituencies. Many bigger than countries will have over 1 million polling stations set up across widely varied geographic and climatic zone. To ensure faster, smoother and transparent conduct of elections. Electronic voting machines or EVMs are being used along with the voter verifiable paper audit trail. Or VVPAT to enable voters to verify that his or her vote has gone to candidate of choice. This has made the counting process very quick. And results can be declared within 3 to 5 hours. As compared to 30 to 40 hours it took on an average. Under the conventional ballot paper system. Hostile ballot provision is also in place for those serving outside their hometown. And those belonging to the armed forces or paramilitary forces are working for the government of India. Outside their respective constituencies. We are celebrating the spirit of India. The spirit of development through democracy. The spirit of defining our own future. The unprecedented spectacle of this mega festival is about to unfold. Come celebrate democracy together. India Inc. Where every single vote counts.