ECI allots digital vouchers to National and State Parties for free broadcast/telecast time on Doordarshan and All India Radio

• Election Commission of India (ECI) allots free broadcast (AIR) and telecast (Doordarshan) time to recognised National and State political parties during general elections, via digital time vouchers delivered through an IT platform.
• Statutory anchor: Section 39A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 — "Allocation of equitable sharing of time on cable television network and other electronic media".
• A rare example of indirect state funding of elections in India through in-kind subsidy on public broadcasters owned by Prasar Bharati.
• UPSC relevance: intersects Polity (ECI powers, RPA-1951), Governance (state funding of elections), and Current Affairs (2026 Assembly polls in 5 States/UT).