MPVL to supply 90,000 ink bottles for GP polls

Election Commission's current order is worth ` 1.04 crore

Mysore Paints and Varnishes Limited (MPVL), here, has supplied 90,000 bottles of indelible ink to the Election Commission for the Grama Panchayat elections being held in two phases in the State.

MPVL, which was established in 1937 by the then Maharaja Nalvadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar, was converted into a public sector undertaking in 1947. It is a manufacturer and supplier of decorative paints, industrial paints, thinners, polishes, primers, sealing wax, etc.

It is a specialist in manufacturing indelible ink (voter’s ink) used for all parliamentary, assembly and local bodies elections in India since 1962. MPVL is also supplying this product to various countries like Turkey, Nepal, Papua-new-guinea, Nigeria, South Africa, Ghana, Singapore and other nations.

BottlesThe EC’s order for 90,000 bottles, 5 ml each, has cost Rs 1.04 crore. Each bottle, accompanied with a application rod, can be used for 300 to 400 voters. It lasts for at least six months after application, said Ananthu, Chairman of MPVL.

Chief Manager of MPVL C Harakumar said, the profit margin is around 10 per cent, but the main objective of the company is participation in the democratic process. The cost of production of each bottle is around Rs 90. In 2013-14, the company’s turnover was Rs 6.17 crore and in 2014-15, it was Rs 86 lakh, he said.

The formula for the indelible ink was developed at the National Physical Laboratory, under the Central government, in the year 1962 to check misuse of franchise. Since, then MPVL has been the sole provider of indelible ink in the nation.

Introduction of brushMPVL has been supplying a plastic application rod along with indelible ink bottles, but, following a requisition from the EC, it supplied a small brush for application purpose in the Delhi Assembly elections. It would supply brushes for the Bihar Assembly elections also and it plans to replace the application rods with brushes in future.

Following a wish of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, MPVL is gearing up to manufacture inks for printing of currency notes (security ink). During a election rally last year, Modi had expressed his surprise over the import of security ink, while MPVL was supplying the highest quality indelible ink to most nations in the world. The MPVL authorities have written a letter to the PM’s office seeking a grant for manufacturing security ink, said Managing Director M V Hemanth Kumar.