00:00 As India heads to the polls starting next month,
00:05 workers hunched over boxes at a factory in the southern city of Mysuru
00:08 race to finish producing millions of bottles of indelible ink
00:11 for the world's largest election. For decades
00:14 India has used the ink, made primarily from silver nitrate,
00:18 to mock voters after they have cast their ballot to prevent duplicate votes
00:21 and fraud. Founded in 1937,
00:24 Mysore Paints and Varnish Limited is the only company authorized to produce the
00:28 ink in India.
00:29 When exposed to sunlight, the ink stains the skin and fingernails purple,
00:32 lasting for about two weeks and is almost impossible to erase.
00:36 Since the start of the year, the company has shipped a record 2.7 million ink vials
00:40 that will be used to mark the nearly 970 million people registered to vote.
00:44 The company is manufacturing 80,000 bottles daily to meet the production
00:49 target for the election.
00:50 India will elect a new parliament in seven phases between April 19 and early
00:54 June.
00:54 Opinion polls have predicted an easy win for Prime Minister Narendra Modi,
00:58 which would make the 73-year-old only the second Prime Minister to win the third
01:02 straight term.
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