Mysuru-based MPVL has been supplying ink for the elections abroad too.
It recently supplied ink for the elections in Cambodia, Fiji islands, Sierra Leone, and Papua New Guinea. It has a major ink order from Malaysia.
MPVL gets orders for the ink supply from over 25-30 countries. In 2021, the company exported ink worth ₹8.14 crore. The first export of ink for an overseas election was in 1978-79.
The ink production began in 1962 based on a special chemical combination formulated by the National Physical Laboratory (NPL), New Delhi.
Situated on a seven-acre campus at Bannimantap Extension here, the factory celebrated its 75th anniversary. The factory was founded in 1937 by Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar, then Maharaja of Mysore, as Mysore Lac Factory and the company was renamed as Mysore Lac and Paints Limited in 1947. It was again rechristened Mysore Paints and Varnish Limited in 1989, after it started production of varnish besides paints.
