Lagatar24 News
New Delhi, Sept. 28: The Defence Ministry has disbanded the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) and transferred its assets, workers, and management to seven public sector units (PSUs), according to an official order. The OFB as of now is a part of the defence ministry, supplying vital guns and ammunition to the three armed forces as well as the paramilitary.
In an order issued on September 28, the Defence Ministry said: “Government of India has decided to transfer, with effect from October 1, 2021, the management, control, operations and maintenance of these 41 production units and identified non-production units to seven government companies (wholly owned by the government of India).”
“The government has decided that all the employees of OFB (Group A, B & 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 (deemed deputation) initially for a period of two years from the appointed date (October 1)”, the order stated.
The names of the seven Defence PSUs (DPSUs) are Munition India Limited, Armoured Vehicles Nigam Limited, Advanced Weapons and Equipment India Limited, Troop Comforts Limited, Yantra India Limited, India Optel Limited and Gliders India Limited. Each of the new DPSUs must establish rules and regulations governing the employment circumstances of the absorbed personnel. The order also stated that they should “seek an alternative for permanent absorption from the personnel on presumed deputation” to that particular DPSU within a two-year term.
“The service conditions of the absorbed employees would not be inferior to the existing ones. A committee would be constituted by DDP (Department of Defence Production) for guiding the new DPSUs in this regard so that the absorption package given is attractive,” the order stated.
The central government declared on May 16 last year that it will corporatize the OFB as part of the “Atmanirbhar Bharat” (self-reliant India) package, which aimed to promote autonomy, accountability, and efficiency in ordnance supplies.
