The Union Cabinet has approved the splitting of the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) and its 41 factories into seven corporate entities on the lines of Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSU). The move is aimed at providing these seven companies greater autonomy and improve their accountability.
The OFB has an annual turnover of around 19,000 crore rupees. These fully 100 percent government-owned entities will deal with ammunition and explosives, vehicles -tanks, combat and mine-protected vehicles, trawls, weapons and equipment, artillery and anti-aircraft guns, rifles, troop comfort items, optoelectronics, and parachutes.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, who heads the empowered group of ministers to oversee OFB’s transformation, assuaged the concerns of around 70,000 OFB employees. Mr Singh said, there will be no change in their service conditions, salaries, retirement and other benefits. He said, they should not be worried.
Once implemented, the OFB, the establishment of which was accepted by the British in 1775, will cease to exist.