Mysore/Mysuru: City-based Mysore Paints and Varnish Limited (MPVL) — formerly Mysore Lac and Paints (MyLAC) — is completing 75 years and Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai will inaugurate the Platinum Jubilee (Amrit Mahotsav) celebrations of the prestigious Government-run factory at an event in Kalamandira on Hunsur Road on Nov. 28 at 3 pm.

Addressing a press meet at MPVL office at Bannimantap here this morning along with MD G. Kumaraswamy, MPVL Chairman Kautilya R. Raghu said District Minister S.T. Somashekar, Major Industries Minister Murugesh Nirani, Municipal Administration, Small Scale Industries and PSU Minister N. Nagaraj (MTB Nagaraj), Member of erstwhile Royal family Pramoda Devi Wadiyar, MPs Pratap Simha, V. Sreenivasa Prasad and Sumalatha Ambarish, Mayor Shivakumar will be present and MLA L. Nagendra will preside.

Recalling the journey of MPVL, Raghu Kautilya said that erstwhile Mysuru ruler Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar set up Mysore Lac Factory in 1937 at Bannimantap, which later came under the control of the then Mysore Government in 1947, when it was named as Mysore Lac and Paints Limited (MyLAC).

The factory was later renamed as Mysore Paints and Varnish Limited (MPVL) in 1989 when the factory started the manufacture of Varnish, he noted. The indelible ink manufacturing process is a closely guarded secret and is based on a chemical formula devised by National Physical Laboratory of India, he added.

Pointing out that the then MyLAC was selected by the Government of India for manufacture of indelible ink, Raghu said that this ink was first used in the third General Election of India.

Maintaining that MPVL is the only manufacturer of indelible ink in the country, he said that the ink is meeting the needs of elections in several countries including Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Cambodia, Nigeria, South Africa, Afghanistan, etc. The MPVL also manufactures marker pens that contain this indelible ink.

The MPVL also manufactures chemical-resistant paints, enamels, primers, distempers, sealing wax and polishes. The sealing wax of MPVL is used by India Post and the Election Commission to seal Ballot boxes, he said.

Continuing, Raghu said that at present, the Karnataka Government holds 91.39 percent of the shares (share value Rs. 94,73,000) and the general public 8.61 percent (share value Rs. 8,87,500). The MPVL has conducted business totalling Rs. 32 crore in 2021-22 earning a profit of Rs. 6.80 crore. MPVL has declared a dividend of 30 percent in 2021-22.

He also revealed the future plans which included upgradation of manufacturing process, market expansion through e-Market using GeM (Government e-Marketplace), establishment of an exclusive R&D Centre, getting ISI Mark for products, getting Indian Railways’ RDSO (Research Design and Scientific Organisation) certification for products and entering into an agreement with ASRTU (Association of State Road Transport Undertakings) in New Delhi.