Global InformationOrdnance Factory Board information
 | This article uses bare URLs, which are uninformative and vulnerable to link rot. (June 2022) |
 Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) | |
 Parent Agency - Department of Defence Production | |
| Industry | Defence Production |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1712[1][2] |
| Defunct | 1 October 2021[3] |
| Fate | Corporatised |
| Successors |
|
| Headquarters | Ayudh Bhawan, Kolkata |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | Sudhir Srivastava, IOFS (Director General)[4] |
| Products | Small 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 | US$3 billion (₹22,389.22 crores) (2020–21)[2][5][6][7] |
Number of employees | ~80,000[8] |
| Website | www.ofb.gov.in |
Ordnance Factory Board (OFB), consisting of the Indian Ordnance Factories, now known as Directorate of Ordnance (Coordination & Services), was an organisation, under the Department of Defence Production (DDP) of Ministry of Defence (MoD), Government of India.[9]
Having converted the 41 Indian Ordnance Factories into 7 Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs) in 2021, 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]
- ^ "Ordnance Factory Board-History". Retrieved 10 September 2021.
- ^ a b c "Corporatisation of ordnance factories may lead to selective privatisation in the long term". 5 July 2021.
- ^ "Defence Ministry issues order for Ordnance Factory Board dissolution". The Hindu. 28 September 2021. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
- ^ "Home | Ordnance Factory Board | Government of India". ofbindia.gov.in.
- ^ "About Department of Defence Production - Department of Defence Production". ddpmod.gov.in. Archived from the original on 4 February 2017. Retrieved 5 May 2017.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 24 May 2011. Retrieved 13 May 2012.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "Antony reviews Ordnance Factory Board work". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 17 April 2012.
- ^ a b "Trends in Defence Production: Case of Ordnance Factories". Retrieved 2 July 2015.
- ^ "History | Directorate of Ordnance (Coordination and Services) | Government of India".
- ^ "After hiving off OFs 3 yrs ago, govt plans to merge some". The Times of India. 2 September 2023.
- ^ "Three years after forming seven new defence PSUs, govt mulls merger of five units: Report". 4 September 2023.
- ^ https://www.sipri.org/sites/default/files/2018-12/fs_arms_industry_2017_0.pdf [bare URL PDF]
- ^ "Factories of graft". 18 June 2009. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
- ^ "Ministry of Defence, Govt of India". Mod.nic.in. Archived from the original on 4 July 2012. Retrieved 17 July 2012.
- ^ John Pike. "Ordnance Factories". Retrieved 2 July 2015.
- ^ "Two Centuries of Guns and Shells". Mod.nic.in. Archived from the original on 7 February 2012. Retrieved 17 July 2012.
- ^ "WHAT". Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
- ^ "Gun Carriage Factory". Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
- ^ "About Us - Ordnance Factory Board". Ordnance Factory Board. Retrieved 17 July 2012.
- ^ "Hindustan Aeronautics Limited". Archived from the original on 25 June 2014. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
- ^ "OFB in Brief - Ordnance Factory Board". Ordnance Factory Board. Archived from the original on 29 October 2020. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
- ^ "Our Units - Ordnance Factory Board". Ordnance Factory Board. Archived from the original on 29 October 2020. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
- ^ "VFJ celebrates 212th Ordnance Factory Day". The Hitavada. Archived from the original on 3 July 2015. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
- ^ Our Bureau. "Business Line : Industry & Economy News : Ordnance Factory to invest Rs 15,000 cr for modernisation". Thehindubusinessline.com. Retrieved 17 July 2012.