OFB - Ordinance Factory Board news & discussion

Suryavanshi

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I wonder what is the first thing that the OFB does when they get a order for new design.
Do they consult the army folks about their needs or just start throwing shit at a AK frame and hope it sticks.
What is stepping them from designing a good rifle?
Do these mouthbreather lack skill? Money? Brain?
Can't be skill some of the best Indian Graduate go into these organisation.
Can't be money they have as much as they need.

Straight out of 1940s

This rifle's looks could be excused if it actually performed well in combat but that is not the case.
I have never seen a gun designed in 90s that had this many rivets and rugged frame. That handguard is it even effective. The Hand Grip is bland as hell.
The rifle has lived its legacy and is being retired in a span of 20 years.
Meanwhile a design from 1950s is still going strong in Pakistan army.



Are they lacking equipment? Hell even if they lack equipment this is not an excuse. Taliban churn out better designed rifles in their mud huts.

The army is to be blamed here as well they tried their hands at 5.56 and now going back 7.62 realising the former is shit at long ranges.

All of this could have been exused of it works good but no.

Now u can only see them in parades, reduced to ceremonial rifle.
 

ManhattanProject

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Straight out of 1940s

This rifle's looks could be excused if it actually performed well in combat but that is not the case.
I have never seen a gun designed in 90s that had this many rivets and rugged frame. That handguard is it even effective. The Hand Grip is bland as hell.
The rifle has lived its legacy and is being retired in a span of 20 years.
Meanwhile a design from 1950s is still going strong in Pakistan army.


I wonder what is the first thing that the OFB does when they get a order for new design.
Do they consult the army folks about their needs or just start throwing shit at a AK frame and hope it sticks.
What is stepping them from designing a good rifle?
Do these mouthbreather lack skill? Money? Brain?
Can't be skill some of the best Indian Graduate go into these organisation.
Can't be money they have as much as they need.

Are they lacking equipment? Hell even if they lack equipment this is not an excuse. Taliban churn out better designed rifles in their mud huts.

The army is to be blamed here as well they tried their hands at 5.56 and now going back 7.62 realising the former is shit at long ranges.

All of this could have been exused of it works good but no.

Now u can only see them in parades, reduced to ceremonial rifle.
we need people who are avid shooters, people with alot of experience in the shooting sports and finally people who have combat experience to consult with the scientists to come up with a good design.
 

Suryavanshi

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we need people who are avid shooters, people with alot of experience in the shooting sports and finally people who have combat experience to consult with the scientists to come up with a good design.
That all fits the Armys bill. And u know how it turned out, the Sanghi paint on INSAS was demaded by the army.
And there isn't much transparency in the procurement to know what is the process of Induction of any wepaon in the army. For instances who are the people involved, what are the parameters set and what tests are inducted.
They should publish data on the performance of various weapons in field trial before induction.

Don't know how to put this but I think top army officers are mouthbreathers who are busy maintaining theie pomshop more than attend to concerns of the soldiers.
Why else is army in such a bad shape? Somone definitely is responsible we just aren't taking names and ranks. The foot soldiers definitely aren't responsible they arent the ones sitting in offices and signing papers.
 

samsaptaka

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Can't be skill some of the best Indian Graduate go into these organisation.
Eh ? I think its the other way round, free loading fkrs who want to work as little as possible and take home a fat paycheck with pension etc.. and an assured job. In short - reservation quota chaps are the people who make up the majority of OFB.

And yes army should have summarily rejected that hideous orange fibre ! Don't know how they could accept it when they were more than happy to scuttle arjun MBT ? Corruption much ?
 

Bhadra

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Wher is OFB who were claiming they can give 100 Dhanush in three months..

Where are DODOs who were so eager to grab the order of 110 ATAGS as those were lined up in their garages to be driven straight away to Rajouri...
Since IA have decided for bigger bangs then enable them to do it in styles......:daru:
 

LurkerBaba

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Created a separate sticky thread. OFB isn't a PSU so it doesn't fit in the existing threads
 

ezsasa

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I wonder what is the first thing that the OFB does when they get a order for new design.
Do they consult the army folks about their needs or just start throwing shit at a AK frame and hope it sticks.
What is stepping them from designing a good rifle?
Do these mouthbreather lack skill? Money? Brain?
Can't be skill some of the best Indian Graduate go into these organisation.
Can't be money they have as much as they need.

Straight out of 1940s

This rifle's looks could be excused if it actually performed well in combat but that is not the case.
I have never seen a gun designed in 90s that had this many rivets and rugged frame. That handguard is it even effective. The Hand Grip is bland as hell.
The rifle has lived its legacy and is being retired in a span of 20 years.
Meanwhile a design from 1950s is still going strong in Pakistan army.



Are they lacking equipment? Hell even if they lack equipment this is not an excuse. Taliban churn out better designed rifles in their mud huts.

The army is to be blamed here as well they tried their hands at 5.56 and now going back 7.62 realising the former is shit at long ranges.

All of this could have been exused of it works good but no.

Now u can only see them in parades, reduced to ceremonial rifle.
over and above the Reasons like red tape & bureaucracy.

simplest explanation is probably that innovation is an iterative process, and in an iterative process not all iterations fulfill the requirement, some succeed many fail, fusiliers cost money.

if the customer is not willing to fund the failures, innovation takes a hit.

In OFB’s case, they are primarily a manufacturing setup not an R&D Setup. whatever innovations they do end up doing, are from a workman’s perspective not a scientist’s point of view, hence the minor improvements over same basic design rather than any giant leap in tech.
 

LurkerBaba

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Some good news - Corporatisation of OFBs approved. Basically, OFBs will become like PSUs

"The minister said that the long pending corporatisation of the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) has been approved that will enable them to cut costs and overheads for more efficient operations. She also said that the OFB factories could be listed in the markets in the near future to bring in transparency in their operations.

The corporatisation of OFBs has long being contested by staffers but the defence ministry has gone ahead with the process, with a detailed roadmap for implementation ready. Sitharaman emphasised that this does not mean a privatisation of the factories but is being done to improve performance"


 

Assassin 2.0

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Ordnance Factory employees plan protest



Published May 21, 2020 | By admin SOURCE: THE HINDU Thousands of civilian employees in Ordnance Factory and the Heavy Alloy Penetrator Project Factory will send letters to the Prime Minister and Defence Minister against corporatisation of ordnance factories on May 21. On May 22, members of All India Defence Employee Federation unions will wear black badge/ ribbon to express their disapproval of the increase in working hours and freezing / scrapping of labour laws. The unions are opposed to the arbitrary decision to convert the 219-year-old state-owned Indian Ordnance Factories into a Corporation and listing it in the share market. They fear that corporatisation will affect their service conditions and future, and emphasise that the ordnance factories need to function as a government organisation in the interest of national security and defence preparedness. They intend to convey through the protests their anguish over the government decision to abolish 9,304 posts in Military Engineering Services and abolition of posts in other army units, denial of National Pension Scheme for defence employees, and the move to bring in foreign direct investment in defence. Denial of fixed term employment takes away job security and reservation in government jobs The first phase of programme opposing corporatisation of ordnance factories involving participation of 82,000 employees have been formulated by the AIDEF, Indian National Defence Workers Federation, and Bharatiya Pratiraksha Mazdoor Sangh, C. Srikumar, general secretary of AIDEF said. Depending on developments, the protest will be intensified by employees of 41 ordnance factories, he said.
 

WARREN SS

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Ordnance Factory employees plan protest



Published May 21, 2020 | By admin SOURCE: THE HINDU Thousands of civilian employees in Ordnance Factory and the Heavy Alloy Penetrator Project Factory will send letters to the Prime Minister and Defence Minister against corporatisation of ordnance factories on May 21. On May 22, members of All India Defence Employee Federation unions will wear black badge/ ribbon to express their disapproval of the increase in working hours and freezing / scrapping of labour laws. The unions are opposed to the arbitrary decision to convert the 219-year-old state-owned Indian Ordnance Factories into a Corporation and listing it in the share market. They fear that corporatisation will affect their service conditions and future, and emphasise that the ordnance factories need to function as a government organisation in the interest of national security and defence preparedness. They intend to convey through the protests their anguish over the government decision to abolish 9,304 posts in Military Engineering Services and abolition of posts in other army units, denial of National Pension Scheme for defence employees, and the move to bring in foreign direct investment in defence. Denial of fixed term employment takes away job security and reservation in government jobs The first phase of programme opposing corporatisation of ordnance factories involving participation of 82,000 employees have been formulated by the AIDEF, Indian National Defence Workers Federation, and Bharatiya Pratiraksha Mazdoor Sangh, C. Srikumar, general secretary of AIDEF said. Depending on developments, the protest will be intensified by employees of 41 ordnance factories, he said.
Let it be there Will no one to hear there Crying now :pound:
 

janme

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Some good news - Corporatisation of OFBs approved. Basically, OFBs will become like PSUs

"The minister said that the long pending corporatisation of the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) has been approved that will enable them to cut costs and overheads for more efficient operations. She also said that the OFB factories could be listed in the markets in the near future to bring in transparency in their operations.

The corporatisation of OFBs has long being contested by staffers but the defence ministry has gone ahead with the process, with a detailed roadmap for implementation ready. Sitharaman emphasised that this does not mean a privatisation of the factories but is being done to improve performance"


The detailed roadmap for implementation has existed for a long time now even before BJP came to power. This is all talk but no walk from the government.
 

ezsasa

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The detailed roadmap for implementation has existed for a long time now even before BJP came to power. This is all talk but no walk from the government.
it's not like govt can do such things with just a stroke of a pen. it's a long negotiation process.
 

Assassin 2.0

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Employees at 41 ordnance factories to go on indefinite strike against corporatisation

Published June 18, 2020 | By admin SOURCE: HT Eighty two thousand civilian employees of India’s 41 ordnance factories will go on indefinite strike after the second week of July in protest against the Centre’s decision to corporatise weapon and defence equipment manufacturing units run by the Ordnance Factory Board of the ministry of defence. The announcement was made on Wednesday afternoon by all three national trade unions, including the Bharatiya Pratiraksha Mazdoor Sangh (BPMS) affiliated to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the ideological parent of the Bharatiya Janata Party. The unions, however, said that the strike will be deferred if the killings in Galwan, in which the Indian Army lost 20 soldiers, leads to a crisis. “The nation comes first. If there is a crisis we have to work round the clock and supply equipment to the army,” Mukesh Singh, general secretary, BPMS, told HT. The date of the strike will be decided in mid-July. The unions decided to go on indefinite strike after their members gave their opinion through ballot between June 8 and 17. “Ordnance factory workers toiled day and night whenever India was at war with its neighbours. There was no need to corporatize the factories. We are ready to stand up to any crisis,” said C Srikumar, general secretary, All India Defence Employees’ Federation (AIDEF). In a statement, the trade unions described the decision to corporatise the plants “arbitrary, illegal and unjustified” and “in violation of assurances” given by former defence ministers. “In spite of the Covid-19 lockdown more than 99 per cent employees participated in the ballot and voted in favour of the indefinite strike,” said Srikumar. The unions started a movement against corporatization in July last year. The agitation started to build up soon after the Centre enforced Arms Rules 2016, which introduced new laws to facilitate production of weapons by private players in collaboration with foreign partners.
 
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Assassin 2.0

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Corporatisation of OFB: Defence Ministry moves to hire consultant, workers’ federations say ‘game plan exposed’
In the fourth tranche of the Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had, on May 16, announced the decision of corporatisation of OFB for “improving autonomy, accountability and efficiency in ordnance suppliers”.



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File photo of the strike called by federations in August last year. (Express)

Moving ahead with its plan to corporatise the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB), the Ministry of Defence has invited Expression of Interest (EOI) cum Request for Proposal (RFP) for the selection of a consultant for strategising and implementing the proposed corporatisation. In response, three main federations of the ordnance workers have said the move has “exposed the government’s game plan”.
The invitation for EoI cum RPF, published on the website of Department of Defence Production (DDP) of the MoD, is titled ‘EOI cum RFP for selection of consultant for providing strategic and implementation management consulting services to assist the Ministry of Defence in the process of corporatisation of the Ordnance Factory Board.’ It states “The DDP of MOD invites EOI cum RFP from reputed India-based consulting agencies to provide management consulting services covering topics like strategic future growth,optimal operational strategy, organisational restructuring and other related implementation issues with respect to transition management, financing, legal aspects etc, to assist the MOD in the process of corporatisation of the OFB, a project initiated by the DDP.”
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Outlining the scope for the consultant, the MoD invitation for EOI cum RFP says, “The consultant shall work in close interaction with the DDP to produce a comprehensive report for corporatisation of OFB, keeping in mind the background and goals. This must enable the DDP to determine the best-suited model for converting OFB into one or more corporate entity(ies), in light of the existing financial, legal, operational and economic scenario…The project will consist of two phases of approx. six months each. In the first phase, the overall strategy, vision and operating model along with financial and legal implications and detailed roadmap for implementation will be outlined by the consultant. In the second phase, the consultant shall support in implementation, project management through the entire project roadmap and co-ordinate and monitor the progress of the corporatisation process and until its completion. The Consultant will also assist the DDP in presenting matters before the Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM).”
In a joint letter, the general secretaries of the three federations stated, “The game plan of the government is totally exposed on the proposed move to corporatise the 41 ordnance factories. On one side, the drama of the high level official committee (HLOC) meetings continues, and on the other hand, the MoD has floated a RFP.”
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The HLOC was formulated in September last year after the three federations had called a strike to oppose the corporatisation move, which was initiated last year. Back then, the federations had rejected the terms of reference of the HLOC. On June 5 this year, the HLOC again initiated the dialogue with the federations of the workers and gazetted officers of the OFB.
The three key federations of defence workers, which represent close to 85 per cent of the 82,000-strong workforce from 41 ordnance factories across the country, have strongly opposed the proposed corporatisation since its inception. The strike ballot called by these federations against the proposal had concluded on June 17, in which workers had voted in favour of an indefinite strike. However, considering the situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China, the date of the strike is slated to be announced later this month.
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The three federations are Bhartiya Pratiraksha Mazdoor Sangh (BPMS), an arm of RSS affiliate Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh, federation of Left unions All India Defence Employees’ Federation (AIDEF) and the Indian National Defence Workers’ Federation (INDWF) of the Congress’s INTUC. The federations have argued that a corporate entity would not be able to survive the unique market environment of defence products, which have a very unstable demand and supply dynamics.
In the fourth tranche of the Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had, on May 16, announced the decision of corporatisation of OFB for “improving autonomy, accountability and efficiency in ordnance suppliers”.
The OFB, an umbrella body for ordnance factories and related institutions, is currently a subordinate office of the MoD. It is headquartered in Kolkata and is a conglomerate of 41 factories, nine training institutes, three regional marketing centres and five regional controllers of safety.
📣
 

AZTEC

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The federations have argued that a corporate entity would not be able to survive the unique market environment of defence products, which have a very unstable demand and supply dynamics.
That’s one of the most ignorant logics I have ever heard.

What these OFB workers are implying is that all renowned arms-making countries like USA, China, Israel, etc. are fools. Why? Because all of these countries have corporatised their military-industrial-complexes, and therefore, these countries are fools (according to the OFB worker’s logic).

One OFB official told media that:
Someone please tell this person that corporatisation is not equal to privatisation. Instead, corporatisation is equal to incentivising innovation and efficiency because it allows OFB to earn and hold profits.

Another official said:
So here we have an OFB official talking about “quality assurance”. LOL. Just talk to any army officer and you will hear horror stories about the “quality” of OFB products. In fact, the “quality” of OFB ammo is so good that not even the combat-proven M777 could handle it.
Again, according to this OFB officer’s logic, “one can not give production of core-items like missiles or other key ammunition to a private player”. Therefore, USA must have made a grand mistake in allowing a private player like Lockheed to build F-22, isn’t it?

Do you guys know why these workers are protesting? They are protesting because they’ll need to shun the चलता है attitude and work properly in a corporatised OFB.

I am genuinely thankful to Modi for showing the political will to corporatise OFB because doing so could mean the loss of lakhs of votes from OFB workers and their families.
 

Kumata

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The Indian Army funds spent on dangerously faulty ammunition supplied by the state-owned Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) over the last six years would have been enough to purchase 100 medium artillery guns.

This staggering claim has been made in an internal Army report to the Ministry of Defence (MoD), excerpts of which have been accessed by India Today.

Calculating the loss to the exchequer due to poor quality OFB ammunition to be Rs 960 crore between 2014 and 2020, the Army notes, “Rs 960 crore roughly means 100 155-mm medium artillery guns could have been bought for this amount."

The OFB, administered by the MoD's Department of Defence Production, is one of the world's oldest government-controlled production organisations, and oversees a nationwide network of factories that manufactures ammunition and weaponry for the Indian armed forces.

The ammunition being criticised in the new Army report includes 23-mm air defence shells, artillery shells, 125-mm tank rounds and different calibres of bullets used in infantry assault rifles.

'POOR QUALITY’ AMMUNITION

The Army report accessed by India Today highlights the 'poor quality production' at the OFB, quantifying the losses both in monetary resources as well as human life due to accidents caused by faulty ammunition.

“Lack of accountability and poor quality of production results in frequent accidents. This results in injuries and deaths of soldiers. On an average, one accident takes place per week," says the report that has been shared with the MoD, including accident and casualty figures.

There have been 403 accidents related to faulty ammunition since 2014, though the numbers of accidents have steadily reduced. From 114 accidents in 2014, the number reduced to 53 by 2017, rose again to 78 in 2018, and dipped once again to just 16 in 2019. But the human casualty figures are far more disturbing.

Listed under the heading 'Casualties due to OFB manufactured ammunition and armament', the report notes 27 troops and others have been killed in faulty ammunition accidents since 2014, with 159 being seriously injured, including permanent disabilities and loss of limbs.

There have been 13 accidents so far in 2020, though none of them has resulted in a death.

Calculating Rs 960 crore as the monetary write-off as a result of faulty OFB ammunition since 2014, the Army report notes that Rs 658.58 crore worth was disposed of within the ammunition's shelf life between April 2014 and April 2019, while 303.23 crore worth of mines were disposed of within their shelf life following a major ammunition depot fire in Pulgaon, Maharashtra in 2016.

'MINI-OFB' TYPE SUPPLIERS NEEDED

The Army's exasperation with OFB supplied ammunition has simmered over decades, reaching a breaking point in the last two years, forcing an effort to approach the Indian private sector to meet ammunition needs. But as India Today reported earlier this month, the Army has pulled the plug on five of seven proposals that would have seen private firms step in to keep ammunition supplies running.

However, the effort to get private companies to become 'mini-OFB' type suppliers is desperately needed.

Earlier this month, the Army's 'ammunition-in-chief', the Master General Ordnance (MGO) Lt Gen Upadhya said at an industry interaction, "OFB is in any case available to us. We want a parallel capacity to come up. It may not be at the scale of the OFB. But to start with, at least a parallel set up should come and various types of ammunition would then be available from the industry which can then settle down and in the times to come, a scaling up can take place."

The Army has a difficult situation on its hands, and one that needs to be navigated tactfully. On the one hand, pushback against the OFB goes directly against the MoD itself, even though the latter has begun a process of modernisation of the OFB.

Just this month, the Ministry of Defence appointed a KPMG-led consortium to advise the government on how to lift the OFB out of its legacy socialist structures and to corporatise it. OFB unions at factories across the country have aggressively opposed the corporatisation drive.

On the other hand, the effort to include private sector firms has largely been one step forward and two back, with several companies -- both big and small -- expressing willingness to invest in capacity to produce and supply ammunition, but require a degree of clarity and assurance of orders, since they do not have the financial cushion and leeway enjoyed by state-owned concerns like the OFB.

What the numbers in the new Army report indicate is that things have come to a head. And with India's forces massed on the border in a war-like situation that will almost definitely stretch into the foreseeable future, the Army hopes the glaring numbers will force a solution to its decades-old ammunition quality, shortage and assurance problems.
 

Kumata

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In OFB’s case, they are primarily a manufacturing setup not an R&D Setup. whatever innovations they do end up doing, are from a workman’s perspective not a scientist’s point of view, hence the minor improvements over same basic design rather than any giant leap in tech.
They have failed miserably as a manufacturing setup as well if one sees their performance. Of course unions will cry hoarse and play politics but its time they are made to answer their failures....
 

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