E-voting
Also written Electronic voting
Casting a shareholder vote electronically instead of by postal ballot — the RTA sets up the platform, sends notices 25 days ahead by post or 21 by email, and closes the voting site at 5 p.m. the day before the AGM.
In plain language
Voting at a shareholder meeting used to mean either turning up in person or filling in a paper postal ballot and mailing it back. E-voting lets a shareholder cast that same vote from home or office, on a screen, ahead of the meeting.
The workbook credits it with improving transparency and corporate governance, cutting the administrative cost of a postal ballot, and letting results be declared almost as soon as voting closes.
How it works
E-voting eliminates paper, lets security holders vote at a time and place of their convenience, and removes the postal delays that dog a paper ballot. Despite this, the workbook notes usage among retail, non-institutional shareholders stays negligible, largely because each e-voting service provider (ESP) requires its own separate login. SEBI's fix is a single login credential for e-voting through the investor's demat account or the depository's / DP's website, rolled out in a phased manner; ESPs continue serving physical shareholders and non-individual holders as before.
The R&T agent runs the mechanics around every AGM: setting up the e-voting event and user credentials, sending the notice 25 days ahead by post/courier or 21 days ahead by email, activating the voting site on the date the company sets, and closing the session at 5.00 p.m. on the day before the AGM. During the meeting, e-voting is activated on the chairman's instruction and concluded when the AGM itself concludes; afterwards, the RTA reports the attendance register and the votes polled, both remote and at the meeting.
A worked example
Nandini Foods Ltd holds its AGM on 18 September. Its RTA activates the e-voting site two weeks earlier and closes it at 5.00 p.m. on 17 September — the evening before the meeting.
A shareholder, Mr. Oberoi, holding 6,000 shares, votes electronically on 15 September using his single demat-account login, without needing a separate password for the company's ESP. On the meeting day, the chairman activates e-voting one final time for members attending live, and the session concludes the moment the AGM itself does. The RTA then compiles the remote e-votes and the live e-votes together into a single result, reported alongside the attendance register.
Why NISM asks about it
Chapter 13, sections 13.9 and 13.10. Expect the single-login initiative as SEBI's answer to negligible retail take-up, and the RTA's own mechanical deadlines — the 25-day / 21-day AGM notice split and the 5 p.m., day-before e-voting close time, both shared with the Annual General Meeting page.
Common exam traps
- Low retail take-up is explicitly attributed to separate ESP logins, not to indifference — SEBI's single-login fix targets exactly this cause.
- The e-voting close time is 5 p.m. the day before the AGM, not the morning of the AGM itself.
- ESPs still serve physical shareholders and non-individual holders under the older process — the single-login reform is specifically for demat account holders.
Check yourself
1.Why was e-voting little used by retail shareholders, and what did SEBI do about it?
- a)Retail shareholders needed a separate login for each e-voting service provider; SEBI enabled e-voting for all demat account holders through a single login via their demat accounts or the websites of depositories/DPs, while ESPs may continue the existing process for physical shareholders and non-individual shareholders
- b)E-voting was open only to institutions; SEBI extended it to retail investors through postal ballot
- c)E-voting was costly for retail investors; SEBI made it free through stock exchange websites
- d)E-voting results were declared late; SEBI required results within 30 days
Show the answer
Answer: (a) Retail shareholders needed a separate login for each e-voting service provider; SEBI enabled e-voting for all demat account holders through a single login via their demat accounts or the websites of depositories/DPs, while ESPs may continue the existing process for physical shareholders and non-individual shareholders
"Despite the various advantages of e-voting facility, the usage of the same is negligible at the public non-institutional shareholders/ retail shareholders level due to the requirement of maintaining separate login ids for each e-voting service providers (ESP)."
SEBI's fix: "SEBI has enable e-voting to all demat account holders by way of a single login credential through their demat accounts/ websites of Depositories/ Depository Participants. The same is implemented in a phased manner. However, ESPs may continue to provide the facility of e-voting as per the existing process to all physical shareholders and shareholders other than individuals viz. institutions/corporate shareholders."
Option B is wrong — e-voting replaces the postal ballot, helping to "eliminate postal and other natural delays which cause a hindrance to postal ballot."
Option C is wrong — cost is not the reason the workbook gives.
Option D is wrong — e-voting in fact allows "declaration of results immediately after the close of the voting."
2.How far in advance must an AGM notice be sent, and by when must proxy forms be received?
- a)21 days by post and 25 days by email; proxies 24 hours before
- b)25 days in advance by post or courier and 21 days in advance by email; proxy forms at least 48 hours before the time fixed for the meeting
- c)30 days by any mode; proxies on the day of the meeting
- d)15 days by any mode; proxies 7 days before
Show the answer
Answer: (b) 25 days in advance by post or courier and 21 days in advance by email; proxy forms at least 48 hours before the time fixed for the meeting
Send the Notice by email / speed post / registered post / courier / fax as per prescribed timelines i.e. 25 days in advance in case of post/Courier and 21 days in advance case of email.
Post is slower, so it needs longer — which is why option A, reversing them, is wrong.
Ensure the proxy forms are received by the Company at least 48 hours before the time fixed for holding the AGM (including major shareholders and representation letters from financial institutions).
Forty-eight hours — time enough to verify them and prepare the proxy register.
Who receives the notice: Members, Statutory auditors, Secretarial auditors, all directors, Debenture trustee (if any).
The annual report has its own period. The R&T agent assists the listed entity to send the annual report in not less than 21 days before the annual general meeting — soft copies of full annual report to all those shareholder(s) who have registered their email addresses, a hard copy of statement containing the salient features of all the documents, as prescribed in Section 136 of Companies Act, 2013 to those who have not, and hard copies of full annual reports to those shareholders, who request for the same.
Two further pre-meeting duties: arrange for upload of AGM notice on company and e-voting websites, and activate the e-voting site as per the date given by the company and close the session on the previous day of the AGM at 5.00PM.
**The RTA also prepares Attendance Registers, Proxy Register, and sets up the e-voting event with user id/password credentials.
During the meeting it must ensure quorum and inform number of registrations (members, Proxies) to the company secretary.
Where this is taught
Free preparation for NISM Series II-ARelated terms
- Annual General MeetingThe meeting every company must call once a year, where shareholders vote on major decisions and approve the dividend — and the R&T agent runs the notices, proxies and e-voting behind it.
- Complaint Registration NumberThe unique number generated the moment an RTA registers an investor complaint, sent to the complainant's email and mobile — the entry point into a grievance process with fixed timelines up to arbitration.
- Stop transferA freeze an RTA marks on physical securities reported lost, or under a court restraining order, so they cannot change hands — lifted if no FIR arrives within 21 days of the notice of loss.