PM Modi inaugurates 7 defence companies, initiative part of govt’s OFB corporatisation move

Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicated the seven new defence companies formed out of the Ordnance Factory Board to the nation today. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Minister of State for Defence Ajay Bhatt and representatives from the Defence industry associations were present on the occasion.

 

 

The government aims at converting the Ordnance Factory Board from a government department into seven 100 per cent government-owned corporate entities to improve self-reliance in the defence preparedness of the country. The move is aimed to enhance functional autonomy, efficiency and to unleash new growth potential and innovation.

 

The seven new defence companies are: Munitions India Limited (MIL); Armoured Vehicles Nigam Limited (AVANI); Advanced Weapons and Equipment India Limited (AWE India); Troop Comforts Limited (TCL); Yantra India Limited (YIL); India Optel Limited (IOL); and Gliders India Limited (GIL).

 

 

 

The Union government had taken the decision to corporatise the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) in 2019. Later, the government constituted an Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) under the chairmanship of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to oversee and guide the entire process, including transition support and redeployment plan of employees while safeguarding their wages and retirement benefits.

 

Earlier, the OFB controlled 41 factories, employing over 70,000 people and had an annual turnover of about Rs 19,000 crore. All of this is now distributed into seven defence public sector units (DPSUs). The employees belonging to Groups A, B and C of the dissolved OFB from both production and non-production units have been transferred to the new DPSUs.

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