Ordnance Factory Board

Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) consisting of the Indian Ordnance Factories is an attached Office under the control of department of defence production (DDP) Ministry of Defence (MoD), Government of India. It is engaged in research, development, production, testing, marketing and logistics of a comprehensive product range in the areas of air, land and sea systems. OFB comprises forty-one ordnance factories, nine training institutes, three regional marketing centres and four regional controllerates of safety, which are spread all across the country.[8][9] Every year, 18 March is celebrated as the Ordnance Factory Day in India.[10][11]

Ordnance Factory Board
IndustryDefence Production
Founded1712[1]
Headquarters
Ayudh Bhawan, Kolkata
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Hari Mohan (Director General Ordnance Factories & Chairman, OFB)[2]
ProductsSmall arms, aircraft weapons, anti-aircraft warfare, naval weapons, anti-ship warfare, anti-submarine warfare, anti-tank warfare, missiles, missile launchers, rockets, rocket launchers, bombs, grenades, mortars, mines, metals, alloys, machine tools, military vehicles, engines, armoured vehicles, parachutes, optoelectronics, chemicals, clothing, artillery, ammunition, propellants, explosives
Revenue$2 billion (₹13687.22 crores)
(2017–'18) [3][4][5][6]
Number of employees
~80,000[7]
Websitewww.ofb.gov.in

OFB is the world's largest government-operated production organisation,[12] and the oldest organisation in India.[13][14] It has a total workforce of about 80,000.[7] It is often called the "Fourth Arm of Defence",[15][16][17] and the "Force Behind the Armed Forces" of India.[18][19] OFB is the 35th largest defence equipment manufacturer in the world, 2nd largest in Asia, and the largest in India. According to a report by SIPRI, India is the largest producer in the category of 'emerging producers' in 2017, with four companies ranked in the Top 100.[20] Their combined arms sales of $7.5 billion in 2017 were 6.1 percent higher than in 2016. The two largest Indian arms producers, Indian Ordnance Factories and Hindustan Aeronautics are the highest ranking (37th and 38th respectively) companies in 2017 among countries in the emerging producers’ category. The report also says that the arm sales of OFB have increased by 8.5% in the year of 2017–18. OFB's arms sales are 96% of its total sales in the year of 2017.[20][5][21] Its total sales were at $2 billion (₹13687.22 crores) in the year 2017–'18.[3][4]

History

Origins

Ordnance Factory Board predates all the other organisations like the Indian Army and the Indian Railways by over a century. The first Indian ordnance factory can trace its origins back to the year 1712 when the Dutch Ostend Company established a Gun Powder Factory in Ichhapur. In 1787, another gunpowder factory was established at Ichapore; it began production in 1791, and the site was later used as a rifle factory, beginning in 1904. In 1801, Gun Carriage Agency (now known as Gun & Shell Factory, Cossipore) was established at Cossipore, Calcutta, and production began on 18 March 1802. This is the oldest ordnance factory in India still in existence.[22]

Contributions

The Indian Ordnance Factories have not only supported India through the wars, but played an important role in building India with the advancement of technology and have ushered the Industrial Revolution in India starting with the first modern steel plant of India much before Tata Steel,[23] first modern electric textile mill of India, first chemical industries such as smokeless propellant plants of India,[24] established the first engineering colleges of India as its training schools,[25] played key role in the founding of research and industrial organisations like ISRO, DRDO, BDL, BEL, BEML, SAIL, etc.[23]

Timeline
  • 1712 – Establishment of the Dutch Ostend Company's Gun Powder Factory at Ichhapur.[1]
  • 1775 – Establishment of the Board of Ordnance at Fort William, Kolkata.
  • 1787 – Establishment of the Gun Powder Factory at Ishapore.
  • 1791 – Production of Gun Powder begins at Ishapore.
  • 1801 – Establishment of Gun Carriage Agency at Cossipore, Kolkata.
  • 1802 – Production begins at Cossipore on 18 March.
  • 1935 – Indian Ordnance Service was introduced to administer the whole Defence Production Industry of India.
  • 1954 – Indian Ordnance Service (IOS) renamed to Indian Ordnance Factories Service (IOFS).
  • 1979 – Ordnance Factory Board is established on 2 April.

OFB Corporatisation

In May 2020, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government announced that it will corporatize Ordnance Factory Board units. As part of Prime Minister's Self Reliant India Atma Nirbhar Bharat scheme, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on May 16, 2020 announced the decision to corporatize the OFB units.[26]

However, the move has not gone down well with more than 80,000 strong work force of OFB Units who have threatened an indefinite strike against the move.[27]

A strike in the Ordnance Factory Board will be seen as a big setback for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's big push to make India a defence powerhouse in next few years. Alarmed by the possibility of strike in OFB units, the ministry of defence formed a high level official committee, comprising officials from the department of defence production and Indian Army, to address the concerns of defence employees unions and OFB officers' association.[28]

Infrastructure and leadership

Headquarters
OFB's office at Esplanade, Kolkata [29][30][31]
  • Ordnance Factory Board, Kolkata (OFBHQ)
  • Armoured Vehicles Headquarters, Chennai (AVHQ)
  • Ordnance Equipment Factories Headquarters, Kanpur (OEFHQ)
  • Ordnance Factory Board, New Delhi Office (OFBNDO)
  • Ordnance Factory Cell, Mumbai (OFBMUM)
  • Ordnance Factories Recruitment Centre, Nagpur (OFRC)

Apex Board

The Apex Board is headed by the director general of ordnance factories (DGOF), who acts as the chairman of the board (ex officio secretary to Government of India) and consists of nine other members, who each hold the rank of Additional DGOF. Ordnance factories are divided into five operating divisions, depending upon the type of the main products/technologies employed. These are:

  • Ammunition and Explosives (A&E)
  • Weapons, Vehicles & Equipment (WV&E)
  • Materials and Components (M&C)
  • Armoured Vehicles (AV)
  • Ordnance Equipment Group of Factories (OEF)

Each of the above group of factories is headed by a member/Additional DGOF who is in the rank of Special Secretary to Government of India. The four remaining members are responsible for staff functions, viz personnel (Per), finance (Fin), planning & material management (P&MM), and technical services (TS), and they operate from Kolkata.

Ordnance factories
FactoryLocationStateProduct
Ammunition Factory Khadki (AFK)PuneMaharashtra
Cordite Factory (CFA)AruvankaduTamil Nadu
Engine Factory Avadi (EFA)ChennaiTamil Nadu
Field Gun Factory, Kanpur (FGK)KanpurUttar Pradesh
Gun Carriage Factory Jabalpur (GCF)JabalpurMadhya Pradesh
Grey Iron Foundry (GIF)JabalpurMadhya Pradesh
Gun and Shell Factory (GSF)KolkataWest Bengal
Heavy Alloy Penetrator Project (HAPP)TiruchirappalliTamil Nadu
High Explosives Factory (HEF)PuneMaharashtra
Heavy Vehicles Factory, Chennai (HVF)ChennaiTamil Nadu
Machine Tool Prototype Factory Ambernath (MPF)MumbaiMaharashtra
Metal and Steel Factory (MSF)KolkataWest Bengal
Ordnance Clothing Factory Avadi (OCFAV)ChennaiTamil Nadu
Ordnance Factory Chandigarh (OCFC)ChandigarhChandigarh
Ordnance Clothing Factory (OCFS)ShahjahanpurUttar Pradesh
Ordnance Equipment Factory Kanpur (OEFC)KanpurUttar Pradesh
Ordnance Equipment Factory Hazratpur (OEFHZ)HazratpurUttar Pradesh
Ordnance Factory Ambernath (OFA)MumbaiMaharashtra
Ordnance Factory Ambajhari (OFAJ)NagpurMaharashtra
Ordnance Factory Bhandara (OFBA)BhandaraMaharashtra
Ordnance Factory Bhusawal (OFBH)BhusawalMaharashtra
Ordnance Factory Bolangir (OFBOL)BolangirOdisha
Ordnance Factory Kanpur (OFC)KanpurUttar Pradesh
Ordnance Factory Chandrapur (OFCH)ChandrapurMaharashtra
Ordnance Factory Dumdum (OFDC)KolkataWest Bengal
Ordnance Factory Dehu Road (OFDR)PuneMaharashtra
Ordnance Factory Dehradun (OFDUN)DehradunUttarakhand
Ordnance Factory Itarsi (OFI)ItarsiMadhya Pradesh
Ordnance Factory Khamaria (OFK)JabalpurMadhya Pradesh
Ordnance Factory Katni (OFKAT)KatniMadhya Pradesh
Ordnance Factory Muradnagar (OFM)MuradnagarUttar Pradesh
Ordnance Factory Project (OFN)NalandaBihar
Ordnance Factory Project Korwa (OFPKR)KorwaUttar Pradesh
Ordnance Factory Project Medak (OFPM)HyderabadTelangana
Ordnance Factory Tiruchirappalli (OFT)TiruchirappalliTamil Nadu
Ordnance Factory Varangaon (OFV)VarangaonMaharashtra
Opto Electronics Factory (OLF)DehradunUttarakhand
Ordnance Parachute Factory (OPF)KanpurUttar Pradesh
Rifle Factory Ishapore (RFI)KolkataWest Bengal
Small Arms Factory (SAF)KanpurUttar Pradesh
Vehicle Factory Jabalpur (VFJ)JabalpurMadhya Pradesh

Each ordnance factory is headed by a general manager who is in the rank of Additional Secretary to the Government of India.

Training institutes
  • National Academy of Defence Production, Nagpur (NADP)
  • Ordnance Factories Institute of Learning Ambajhari, Nagpur (OFILAJ)
  • Ordnance Factories Institute of Learning Ambernath, Mumbai (OFILAM)
  • Ordnance Factories Institute of Learning Avadi, Chennai (OFILAV)
  • Ordnance Factories Institute of Learning Dehradun (OFILDD)
  • Ordnance Factories Institute of Learning Ishapore, Kolkata (OFILIS)
  • Ordnance Factories Institute of Learning Khamaria, Jabalpur (OFILKH)
  • Ordnance Factories Institute of Learning, Kanpur (OFILKN)
  • Ordnance Factories Institute of Learning, Medak (OFILMK)

Each OFIL is headed by a principal director, and NADP by a senior principal director. NADP provides training to Group A officers, whilst the other eight institutes impart training to Group B and Group C employees of the ordnance factories.

Regional marketing centres
  • Regional Marketing Centre, Avadi, Chennai (RMCAV)
  • Regional Marketing Centre, Delhi (RMCDL)
  • Regional Marketing Centre, Pune (RMCPU)

Each regional marketing centre is headed by a regional director.

Regional controllerates of safety
  • Regional Controllerate of Safety Ambajhari, Nagpur (RCSAJ)
  • Regional Controllerate of Safety Avadi, Chennai (RCSAV)
  • Regional Controllerate of Safety, Kanpur (RCSKN)
  • Regional Controllerate of Safety, Pune (RCSPU)

Each regional controllerate of safety is headed by a regional controller of safety.

Indian Ordnance Factories Service (IOFS)
Main article: Indian Ordnance Factories Service

The Indian Ordnance Factories Service (IOFS) (Hindi: भारतीय आयुध निर्माणी सेवा) is a civil service of the Government of India. IOFS officers are Gazetted (Group A) defence-civilian officers under the Ministry of Defence.

IOFS is a multi-disciplinary composite cadre consisting of technical – engineers (civil, electrical, mechanical, electronics), technologists (aerospace, automotive, marine, industrial/product design, computer, nuclear, optical, chemical, metallurgical, textile, leather) and non-technical/administrative (science, law, commerce, management and arts graduates). Technical posts comprise about 87% of the total cadre. The doctors (surgeons and physicians) serving in OFB belong to a separate service known as the Indian Ordnance Factories Health Service (IOFHS). IOFHS officers are responsible for the maintenance of health of the employees, and the hospitals of OFB. They report directly to the IOFS officers. IOFS and IOFHS are the only two civil services under the Department of Defence Production.[32]

Products

The type of ordnance material produced is very diverse, including various small arms to missiles, rockets, bombs, grenades, military vehicles, armoured vehicles, chemicals, optical devices, parachutes, mortars, artillery pieces plus all associated ammunition, propellants, explosives and fuses.[33]

Civilian products

Civilians are required to hold an Arms License (issued only for non-prohibited bore category weapons) in order to buy firearms in India. The following products of the Indian Ordnance Factories Board are available for civilians:

Arms

Ammunition
  • Cartridge Rimfire .22" Ball
  • Cartridge SA .32" Revolver
  • Cartridge SA .315" and 30 06 Ball
  • Cartridge SA 12 Bore 70mm
  • Cartridge SA 12 Bore 65 mm Special

Customers

Armed Forces

The prime customers of Indian Ordnance Factories are the Indian Armed Forces viz. Indian Army, Indian Navy and the Indian Air Force.[34][35] Apart from supplying armaments to the Armed Forces, Ordnance Factories also meet the requirements of other customers viz. the Central Armed Police Forces, State Armed Police Forces, Paramilitary Forces of India and the Special Forces of India in respect of arms, ammunition, clothing, bullet proof vehicles, mine protected vehicles etc.[8][36]

Civil trade

Customers are in the civil sector, central/state government organisations and departments such as Indian Railways, Indian Space Research Organisation, Defence Research and Development Organisation, Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre, Nuclear Fuel Complex, Aeronautical Development Agency, Department of Atomic Energy, Department of Telecommunications, and State Electricity Boards.[37][38][39][40] Public Sector Undertakings in India (PSUs) such as HMT Limited, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited, Bharat Dynamics Limited,[41] private companies and individuals etc. who purchase industrial chemicals, explosives, arms, ammunition, brass ingots, aluminium alloy products for aircraft, steel castings and forgings, vehicles, clothing and leather goods, cables and opto-electronic instruments.[42]

Exports

Arms and ammunition, weapon spares, chemicals and explosives, parachutes, leather and clothing items are exported to more than 30 countries worldwide.

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References
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