The Hindu Business Line : To combat competition from pvt players — Ordnance Factory Board seeks functional autonomy

THE Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) has started feeling the heat of the Centre's liberalisation policy for manufacture of equipment needed by the Defence Forces. The board in fact feels that it should have functional autonomy similar to that of the Railway Board enabling it to enjoy decision making powers even while remaining a manufacturing arm of the Union Defence Ministry.

With a total of 39 factories producing and supplying a diverse range of arms and equipment to the Indian Armed Forces, OFB apprehends that it may face stiff competition from private manufacturers in all the areas of manufacturing hitherto reserved for it.

The board has adopted several innovative strategies including acquiring technologies through in-house research, joint projects with Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), purchases from foreign vendors and by adopting the route of co-production and co-development with partners both in private and public sectors.

The OFB Chairman, Mr P.K. Mishra, told Business Line that an initiative had been taken to reduce product prices and the board was currently supplying the defence forces various stores at 2000-01 prices, recording growth on an average by 10 to 12 per cent during last couple of years.

The board was expected to register a turnover of about Rs 8,300 crore in 2006-07 and about Rs 9,500 crore in 2007-08 against the present level of about Rs 7,000 crore at 2000-01 prices. Mr Mishra said the board had been able to develop two types of carbine of 5.56mm on the existing 5.56 INSAS Rifle, upgrade of 40mm L-70 Anti Aircraft Gun in association with BEL Ltd, and develop a vehicle with armour plates all around it on the stallion chassis of Ashok Leyland which would be able to withstand a 14 kg TNT blast under it.

Mr Mishra said the Anti Material Rifle having 12.7 mm and 20mm bore barrels, which were to be produced by the transfer of technology from South Africa, would now be produced utilising technology developed by the ordnance factories.