Ordnance Factory Board (OFB)

Why in news?

• Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved a plan to corporatise the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB), which has 41 factories, into seven fully government-owned corporate entities on the lines of Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSU).
• Once implemented, the OFB, the establishment of which was accepted by the British in 1775, will cease to exist.

About the board:

• Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) consisting of the Indian Ordnance Factories is a Government agency under the control of the department of defence production (DDP) Ministry of Defence (MoD).
• It is engaged in research, development, production, testing, marketing and logistics of a large defence product range in the areas of air, land and sea systems.
• OFB comprises forty-one ordnance factories, nine training institutes, three regional marketing centres and four regional controllerates of safety, which are spread all across the country.
• The type of ordnance material produced is very diverse, including various small arms to missiles, rockets, bombs, grenades, military vehicles, armoured vehicles, chemicals, optical devices, parachutes, mortars, artillery pieces plus all associated ammunition, propellants, explosives and fuses.
• OFB is the world's largest government-operated production organisation and is the 35th largest defence equipment manufacturer in the world.
• While the main customers of OFB are the armed forces numerous civilian organisations and industries including Railways, ISRO, BHEL etc make use of OFB products.

Prelims Question

Consider the following statements regarding the ordnance factory board (OFB):
1.It is a government agency under the control of the Ministry of Defence (MoD).
2.It was created in 1954 for the production of arms and ammunition.
Which among the above statements is/are correct?
(a)1 only 
(b)2 only 
(c)Both 1 and 2
(d)Neither 1 nor 2

Answer to prelims question