Ordnance Factory Day is observed annually on 18 March across India by the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) to commemorate the establishment of the 1st Ordnance Factory in India at Cossipore near Kolkata, West Bengal (WB) in 1801.
- This Day honors the significant contributions of the Indian Ordnance Factories (IOFs) in strengthening India’s defence capabilities.
About Indian Ordnance Factories:
i.The Indian Ordnance Factories (IOFs) is a conglomerate of 41 Factories, 9 Training Institutes, 3 Regional Marketing Centres and 4 Regional Controllers of Safety under the Department of Defence Production (DDP), Ministry of Defence (MoD).
- The 41 IOFs in India are divided into 5 operational divisions based on the type of main products or technologies used: Ammunition and Explosives; Weapons, Vehicles, and Equipment; Materials and Components; Armoured Vehicles and Ordnance Equipment.
ii.It is the oldest and largest industrial entity within the DDP responsible for producing arms, ammunition, and equipment for the Indian Armed Forces.
iii.IOF is often referred to as the “4th Arm of Defence,” alongside the Indian Army (IA), Indian Navy (IN), and Indian Air Force (IAF), that plays a critical role in national defence.
iv.These factories are involved in the production, testing, logistics, research, development, and marketing of a wide range of products related to land, sea, and air systems.
Historical Development of IOFs:
i.The origins of IOFs are deeply intertwined with British colonial interests in India. In 1775, the British established the Board of Ordnance at Fort William in Kolkata, marking the official inception of military ordnance operations in India.
ii.The first gunpowder factory was set up in Ishapore in 1787, with production commencing in 1791. This site later became the Rifle Factory Ishapore in 1904.
iii.In 1801, the British established the Gun Carriage Agency at Cossipore, Kolkata (now known as the Gun & Shell Factory, Cossipore), with production starting in 1802. This factory is the oldest ordnance facility in India still operational.
iv.In 1906, the administration of the Indian Ordnance Factories was placed under a separate charge as the ‘Inspector General of Ordnance Factories’.
Key Steps in the Corporatisation Process:
i.In June 2021, the Government of India (GoI) initiated the corporatisation of the OFB, aiming to enhance efficiency and accountability within the defence manufacturing sector.
ii.7 DPSUs: The 41 Ordnance Factories were restructured into 7 new Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs), each specializing in specific defence product categories. These entities are
- Pune (Maharashtra) based Munitions India Limited (MIL),
- Avadi (Chennai, Tamil Nadu, TN) based Armoured Vehicles Nigam Limited (AVANI),
- Kanpur (Uttar Pradesh, UP) based Advanced Weapons and Equipment India Limited (AWEIL),
- Kanpur (UP) based Troop Comforts Limited (TCL),
- Nagpur (Maharashtra) based Yantra India Limited (YIL),
- Dehradun (Uttarakhand) based India Optel Limited (IOL) and
- Kanpur (UP) based Gliders India Limited (GIL).
iii.Operational Transition: Effective from October 1, 2021, the management, operations, and maintenance responsibilities of the 41 production units were transferred to these 7 DPSUs.
iv.Formation of the Directorate of Ordnance (Coordination & Services): Concurrently, the Directorate was established on October 1, 2021, to oversee the coordination and service aspects of the ordnance factories, succeeding the OFB headquarters (Kolkata, WB).
About Ordnance Factory Board (OFB):
Director-General (DG) Ordnance- Sanjeev Gupta
Headquarters– Kolkata, West Bengal
Established– 1979
