Ordnance Factory Board (OFB):
The Defence Ministry has issued an order for the dissolution of the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) with effect from October 1 upon which its assets, employees and management would be transferred to seven newly constituted defence public sector undertakings (DPSUs).
- This would mean the end of the OFB, the establishment of which was accepted by the British in 1775.
- On June 16, the Union Cabinet had approved a long-awaited reform plan to corporatise the OFB, which has 41 factories, into seven fully government-owned corporate entities on the lines of DPSUs.
- With effect from October 1, the management, control, operations and maintenance of these 41 production units and identified non-production units would be transferred to seven government companies: Munitions India Ltd., Armoured Vehicles Nigam Ltd., Advanced Weapons and Equipment India Ltd., Troop Comforts Ltd., Yantra India Ltd., India Optel Ltd., and Gliders India Ltd.
- All the employees of OFB (Group A, B and C) belonging to the production units and also the identified non-production units shall be transferred en masse to the new DPSUs on terms of foreign service without any deputation allowance initially for a period of two years.
