The Directorate of Ordnance (Coordination & Services) (abbreviated: DOO(C&S)) is an authority under the Department of Defence Production (DDP) of Ministry of Defence (MoD), Government of India.[9] Its primary work is to management, give instructions and make coordination of government Ordance production public companies. It is the main regulatory body of Indian Ordnance and its administration civil service, Indian Ordnance Factories Service (IOFS).
The DOO(C&S) earlier known as Ordnance Factory Board (OFB), consisting of the Indian Ordnance Factories. In 2021, Government having corporatise the functions of the 41 Indian Ordnance Factories into 7Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs), the Government is merging them again in 2024, as the output of one factory serves as the input of the other.[10][11]
OFB was the 37th-largest defence equipment manufacturer in the world, 2nd-largest in Asia, and the largest in India.[12] OFB was the world's largest government-operated production organisation,[13] and the oldest organisation in India.[14][15] It had a total workforce of about 80,000.[8] It was often called the "Fourth Arm of Defence",[16][17][18] and the "Force Behind the Armed Forces" of India.[19][20] Its total sales were at US$3 billion (₹22,389.22 crores) in the year 2020–'21.[2]
It was engaged in research, development, production, testing, marketing and logistics of a product range in the areas of air, land and sea systems. OFB consisted of forty-one ordnance factories, nine training institutes, three regional marketing centres and four regional controllerates of safety, which are spread all across the country.[21][22] Every year, 18 March is celebrated as the Ordnance Factory Day in India.[23][24]
History
Origins
The Indian Ordnance Factories predate 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.[25] 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.[26]
1979 – Ordnance Factory Board is established on 2 April.
Restructuring OFB into seven DPSUs
On 17 June 2021, the Defence Ministry announced its plans to split the existing five operating divisions of OFB, in addition to parachutes and opto-electronics, into seven PSUs, wholly owned by the government. It was mentioned that all existing factories and employees will become a part of these seven PSUs.[35][36] From 1 October 2021, OFB has been dissolved and all the management, control, operations and maintenance has been transferred to 7 newly formed Defence PSUs, namely:[37][38]
The new companies were launched and dedicated to the nation on 15 October 2021.[39]
The Government is merging them again in 2024, as the output of one factory serves as the input of the other.[10][11]
Infrastructure and Management
DOO(C&S)'s office at Esplanade, Kolkata [40][41][42]
Headquarters
Ayudh Bhawan, Kolkata (main headquarter of DOO(C&S),)
Armoured Vehicles Headquarters, Chennai
Ordnance Equipment Factories Headquarters, Kanpur
DOO(C&S), New Delhi Office
Ordnance Factory Cell, Mumbai
Ordnance Factories Recruitment Centre, Nagpur
Apex Board
The Apex Board was 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 consisted of nine other members, who each held the rank of Additional DGOF. Ordnance factories were divided into five operating divisions, depending upon the type of the main products/technologies employed.
These were:
Ammunition and Explosives
Weapons, Vehicles & Equipment
Materials and Components
Armoured Vehicles
Ordnance Equipment Group of Factories
Each of the above group of factories was headed by a Member/Additional DGOF who was in the rank of Special Secretary to Government of India. The four remaining members were responsible for staff functions, viz personnel, finance, planning and material management, and technical services, and they operated from Kolkata.
National Academy of Defence Production provides training to the IOFS officers in areas of technology, management, public administration as induction and re-orientation courses.
There were Ordnance Factories Institutes of Learning (OFILs) in Ambajhari, Ambernath, Avadi, Dehradun, Ishapore, Khamaria, Kanpur and Medak. Each OFIL was headed by a principal director, and NADP by a senior principal director. NADP provided training to Group A officers, whilst the other eight institutes imparted training to Group B and Group C employees of the ordnance factories.
OFB had Regional marketing centres and Regional controllerates of safety as well.
Joint Ventures
In 2017, the Department of Defence Production under the Ministry of Defence opened itself to for Joint Ventures with OFB and DRDO was also tasked with identifying their products and patents, with the scope of commercial production[43]
A joint venture between Ordnance Factory Board (50.5%), Kalashnikov Concern (42%) and Rosonboronexport (7.5%) established to produce AK-203 (7.62×39mm) assault rifles intended for Indian Security Forces.[44]
The Indian Ordnance Factories Service (IOFS) 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 account for 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.[45]
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 and ammunition, weapon spares, chemicals and explosives, parachutes, leather and clothing items were exported to more than 30 countries worldwide.
Asia: Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Vietnam, Nepal, Singapore
Europe: Germany, Belgium, Cyprus, Greece, Turkey, Russia, Sweden, France, Switzerland, United Kingdom
Middle East: Oman, Egypt, Israel, Saudi Arabia, UAE
Africa: Kenya, Botswana, Nigeria
North and South America: United States, Canada, Brazil, Chile, Suriname[55][56][57][58]
R. M. Muzumdar - IOFS. Second Indian Director General of the Indian Ordnance Factories. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan by the Government of India, in 1973, in the Civil service category, for his contributions during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971
^Fleurant, Aude; Wezeman, Siemon T.; Wezeman, Pieter D.; Kuimov, Alexandra; Tian, Nan (2018). The SIPRI Top 100 Arms-producing and Military Services Companies, 2017 (Report). Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. doi:10.55163/xtni9148.
%27s_logo.gif){kind=logo}
,_Shri_Giriraj_Singh_visiting_the_exhibition,_at_the_Defence_%26_Homeland_Security_Expo_and_Conference_2018,_in_New_Delhi_on_September_07,_2018.JPG)
%27s_Matang_Truck_for_the_Indian_Army.jpg)
,_Light_Strike_Vehicle_(LSV).jpg)
%27s_Mine_Protected_Vehicle.jpg)
%27s_LPTA_715_Truck_for_the_Indian_Army.jpg)
%27s_Bullet_Proof_Vehicle.jpg)
%27s_Stallion_Truck_for_the_Indian_Army.jpg)
_during_Exercise_INDRA_2014.jpg)
_of_Ordnance_Factory_Board.jpg)
.JPG)
.jpg)
_manufactured_by_the_Ordnance_Factory_Board_(OFB).jpg)
