06 April,2009 08:10 AM IST | | B V Shiva Shankar
No outsider will ever get to know how the voter marking ink is produced, says Mysore Paints chairman K J Suresh
Indelible ink is a product that has made Mysore Paints proud. Its chairman K J Suresh talks about the achievements of India's one and only voter ink company.
K J Suresh
MiDDAY: What is the speciality of your indelible ink?
K J Suresh: Someone who has voted must not go and vote a second time. To mark out the voter, our ink is indispensable. It stays for up to 15 days on his nail and skin.
Why do you keep its composition so secret?
To avoid misuse... what if someone goes in for reverse engineering and finds a compound to remove it? We've been making the ink since 1962, and we've kept the formula a secret since.
Why is only Mysore Paints authorised to produce the ink?
We are the only factory in India to produce it. We are a government firm, so reliability, quality and security are assured.u00a0
Why the straight line now, instead of the dot?
This has been in practice since 2006-07. The election authorities decided the dot was not properly visible.
What are you doing to meet the huge demand?
We use some machines where earlier it was all produced manually. Employees are working overtime, and we have hired daily-wage workers for packing and loading.
Is marking with indelible ink a worldwide practice?
In countries such as the UK, a unique ballot sheet is sent to the voter, and the voter comes to the booth with it.
There is no need to mark the finger with ink. In some countries, the biometric system is used. But most countries use indelible ink, like us.u00a0
How do you get business?
Some countries invite global tenders and we bid. Others approach us through their embassies.
Our ink has already been used in 25 countries. They are all happy about the quality of our product.
Is your ink used for anything other than voter marking?
Some hospitals use it to mark out cancer-affected areas. But I must say not all hospitals have taken to it.
