The ink with a ‘secret formula’

Level 1 l Pre-intermediate / Intermediate

1 Warmer
Answer the questions.

1. What is a general election?

2. When is the next general election in your country?

2 Key words
Match the key words with the definitions. Then find them in the article to read them in context. The
paragraph numbers will help you.

commission essential cuticle polling station indelible

1. a building where people go to vote in an election _____________________________ (para 1)

2. a group of people that is officially put in charge of something or asked to find out about something
_____________________________ (para 3)
3. completely necessary _____________________________ (para 4)
4. making a mark that is impossible to remove _____________________________ (para 4)
5. a layer of hard skin at the base of a fingernail _____________________________ (para 4)

independence formula safe replace stains

6. a list of the exact amounts of the ingredients that are used for making something
_____________________________ (para 5)

7. a strong metal box with a special lock, used for storing valuable things _____________________________
(para 7)

8. leaves a mark on something that is hard to remove _____________________________ (para 8)

9. freedom from control by another country or organization _____________________________ (para 11)

10. be used for doing the same job as something that was used before _____________________________
(para 12)
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NEWS LESSONS / The ink with a ‘secret formula’ / Pre-intermediate / Intermediate

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The ink with a ‘secret formula’
Level 1 l Pre-intermediate / Intermediate
The ink with a ‘secret formula’
that powers the world’s biggest
democratic exercise
Amrit Dhillon
28 March, 2019
1 During every Indian general election, we see
pictures of smiling voters coming out of a polling
station, holding up a finger marked with blue ink.
They are showing everyone that they have voted
in the world’s biggest democracy.
2 Voting in the 2019 general election started on 11
April. Because India is so large, the election lasts
for six weeks so that around 900 million Indians
could vote.
3 Before the election, the Election Commission
ordered very large amounts of a special kind
of ink from a small company in Mysore, in the
country’s south.
4 The ink is essential to India’s democratic process.
It is indelible. You cannot wash or rub it off, so it
stops people from voting more than once. The
ink is drawn with a brush or stick on the nail and
cuticle of the forefinger of the left hand. It stays on
the voter’s finger for weeks, until a new
nail grows.
5 The government-owned company Mysore Paints
& Varnish started making the ink, based on a
secret chemical formula, in 1962, when the
Election Commission asked the company to make
an ink that people could not rub or wash off.
6 In 2019, about 100 employees made more than
2.6 million 10ml plastic bottles of the ink. The
bottles used to be made of glass, but sometimes
the glass broke. But what hasn’t changed is the
secret formula.
© Springer Nature Limited 2019. Macmillan Education is part of the Springer Nature Group.
NEWS LESSONS / The ink with a ‘secret formula’ / Pre-intermediate / Intermediate
7 “I don’t know what the secret formula is!” said
Mysore Paints & Varnish managing director, Dr
Chandrashekhar Doddamani. “I am not allowed to
know. Only two of our chemists know the secret
formula, and they pass it on when they leave
the company.” Is it kept in a safe, like the Coca
Cola formula? “No, not a safe, but only two of our
chemists know where it is,” he said.
8 One of the ink’s ingredients is silver nitrate, which
stains the nail. It cannot be washed off with soap
or chemicals.
9 When the ink is ready, it is sent to one million
polling stations across India. But that is not the
only place it goes. The company also sends the
ink to 30 countries from Thailand and Malaysia to
Afghanistan and Nigeria.
10 Mysore Paints & Varnish was started in 1937 by
one of the richest men in the world at that time,
Maharajah Krishnaraja Wadiyar IV.
11 In 1947, after Indian independence, the
government took over the company. It is the
only company that is allowed to make the ink for
elections in India.
12 The company is currently testing marker pens that
could replace the ink in a bottle. “It will be easier
to use – no need to open a bottle or use a brush.
It will also be easier to pack. But we have to finish
our tests first,” said Doddamani.
© Guardian News and Media 2019
First published in The Guardian, 28/03/19
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The ink with a ‘secret formula’
Level 1 l Pre-intermediate / Intermediate
3 Comprehension check
Choose the right answer to each question.

1. Approximately how many people are allowed to vote in the 2019 general election in India?
a. 100 million
b. 900 million
c. 1 billion

2. How long does the general election last?

a. one day
b. six days
c. six weeks

3. Why is the special ink so important to the elections?

a. It is used in pens people use to vote with.
b. It is used to mark people to show that they have voted.
c. It is only made by one company in India.

4. Where exactly is the ink mark put on people?

a. on the nail and cuticle of the middle finger of their left hand
b. on the nail and cuticle of the forefinger of their left hand
c. on the nail of the forefinger of their right hand

5. How is the ink drawn on the voters?

a. with a pen
b. with a brush or stick
c. They put their finger into the ink bottle.

4 Using the key words

Use five of the key words from task 2 to complete the sentences about the article.

1. The _____________________ ink _____________________ voters’ fingers to show that they have voted.
2. The ink is an _____________________ part of the general election.
3. The ink is made using a secret _____________________.
4. India gained its _____________________ in 1947.
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NEWS LESSONS / The ink with a ‘secret formula’ / Pre-intermediate / Intermediate

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 The ink with a ‘secret formula’
Level 1 l Pre-intermediate / Intermediate
5 Discussion
a. Complete the missing information about voting in general elections in your country.

• In my country, a general election usually takes place every ________________________ (e.g. 18 months /
four years / five years).
• People over the age of _____________ (e.g. 16 / 18 / 21) are allowed to vote.
• Polling stations are usually in ________________________ (e.g. schools / churches / community centres /
government offices).
• When you go to vote, you have to take ________________________ (e.g. a voting card / an identity card / a
passport) with you.
• The voting in a general election usually last for ________________________ (e.g. one day / one week /
six weeks).

b. Compare your answers with other students.

6 Webquest
Go to the website of Mysore Paints and Varnish, and answer these questions.

1. What bird is on the company’s logo?

a. an owl
b. a vulture
c. a peacock

2. What is another name for the indelible ink?

a. voter’s ink
b. blue election ink
c. staining ink

3. How long does the ink take to dry on a voter’s finger?

a. less than 40 seconds
b. one minute
c. about five minutes

4. The indelible ink comes in different sizes. What are the smallest and largest sizes?
a. 1ml and 100ml
b. 5ml and 100ml
c. 10ml and 1000ml
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NEWS LESSONS / The ink with a ‘secret formula’ / Pre-intermediate / Intermediate

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The ink with a ‘secret formula’
Level 1 l Pre-intermediate / Intermediate
KEY

1 Warmer 4 Using the key words

1. an election in which every adult in the country 1. indelible; stains

can vote for the people who will represent them 2. essential
in parliament 3. formula
4. independence

2 Key words
6 Webquest
1. polling station
2. commission 1. c
3. essential 2. a
4. indelible 3. a
5. cuticle 4. b
6. formula
7. safe
8. stains
9. independence
10. replace

3 Comprehension check

1. b
2. c
3. b
4. b
5. b

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NEWS LESSONS / The ink with a ‘secret formula’ / Pre-intermediate / Intermediate

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