What is in news : Defence Ministry has issued an order to dissolve the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB)

Details :

• OFB is being restructured with the aim of transforming it into productive and profitable assets, deepening specialization in product range, enhancing competitiveness and improving quality & cost-efficiency.
• As per government’s order, over 70,000 employees of OFB (Group A, B and C) belonging to the production units and identified non-production units will be transferred en masse to new DPSUs on terms of foreign service. They would be transferred without any deputation allowance in the initial phase, for a period of two years.

Ordnance Factory Board (OFB):

• It is an umbrella body for the ordnance factories and related institutions, and is currently a subordinate office of the Ministry of Defence (MoD).
• The first Indian ordnance factory was set up in the year 1712 by the Dutch Company as a Gun-Powder Factory, West Bengal.
• OFBs will be responsible for different verticals of the products such as the Ammunition and Explosives group will be engaged in production of ammunition while a Vehicles group will engage in production of defence mobility and combat vehicles.