A recent report released by the Army stated that 403 accidents have taken place due to faulty ammunition since 2014. It also highlighted that casualties due to Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) manufactured ammunition and armament were unacceptably high, with 27 soldiers losing their lives and nearly 160 injured. Financially, the cost incurred by disposing off faulty ammunition was almost Rs 960 crore, which could have enabled the government to purchase over 100 medium guns.

In a counter press release, the OFB stated, “for the accidents which occurred between Jan 2015 to Dec 2019, where defect investigation has been completed, only 19 per cent of cases are attributable to the OFB.” Which Indian can ever forget the callousness of the OFB in refusing to collect its defective mines from the Pulgaon ammunition dump leading to a fire on 31 May 2016, which resulted in the loss of 16 valuable lives. The army had been requesting the OFB for six years to collect and dispose of the mines, but it ignored the requests.

To add to the army’s problems, the OFB functions directly under the Ministry of Defence which provides it with additional protection. In the inquiry on the Pulgaon case, there was no comment on the failure of the OFB; on the contrary, the MoD returned the case to Army HQs questioning the firefighting capability of the depot. If a criminal is protected by those who should be questioning it, how can performance ever improve? After this accident, mines worth Rs 303 crore were destroyed.

On ammunition alone, multiple parliamentary committees on defence and Comptroller and Auditor General reports have criticized OFB for failing to meet quotas in production. They have also been hauled up for poor quality products leading to accidents. The OFB accepts every order of the armed forces but fails to deliver. As per reports available, the OFB shortfalls in fulfilling accepted orders varied from 51 to 67 per cent in the period between 2013-18, most being in the ammunition category.

In one of the enquiries after a firing accident, the statement of the OFB which controls all ammunition factories was, “the important reasons (for failures) can be manufacturing deficiencies, improper handling and storage in ammunition depots, improper maintenance of weapon systems and improper handling of ammunition and weapons during firing. The OFB is not aware of the storage/ handling/maintenance conditions at the army’s end, which are equally responsible for defects/ accidents.” There was no attempt by the OFB to mention improving its manufacturing practices.

Ammunition accidents have occurred with artillery guns, tanks, mortars, mines and air defence equipment involving different depots, different units and different ranges. However, all ammunition was manufactured by the OFB. In every case, there has been an investigation, after which ordnance factories have washed their hands off. There may be an error in one depot or one unit or one kind of equipment, not across the country.

The OFB comprises of 41 ordnance factories and employs approximately 80,000 people over 24 locations. They have, till recently, remained the main supplier to the armed forces for most of their needs, including items available in the open market. However, in desperation to show profit and cater for overtime for their work force, their products have been overpriced and targets rarely achieved.Earlier when the army began placing orders for non-core items from the open market there was marked resistance from the OFB claiming its quality and cost cannot be matched. Every army personnel has experienced different coloured uniform shirts and trousers delivered by the OFB, leading to many being compelled to purchase their own. In anger, the army switched to procurement of cloth, rather than stitched uniform.

An assessment done by the army indicates that cost when purchased from the open market is far lower. An example is the variation in cost of the Ashok Leyland Stallion vehicle between assembly at the OFB factory in Jabalpur and purchase from the main manufacturing unit at Hosur. The OFB charges Rs 28 lakh against the factory cost of Rs 17 lakh. Added to this are problems on repair of vehicles manufactured at Jabalpur, which the OFB refuses to honour. Similar variations exist for other products.

Another recent case is of the joint venture with Russia for producing AK 203 rifles at the OFB plant in Amethi. The defence ministry was compelled to appoint a costing committee as the price quoted by the OFB was far higher than the benchmark price. This was also submitted after repeated extensions. The government’s decision to corporatise OFB has been met with resistance and anger. Rather than seeking to prove that they remain a national asset, especially during the ongoing crisis, they have announced their decision to proceed on a strike from 12 October, only on concerns for job cuts, layoffs and losing privileges of being defence employees.

A statement issued prior to an earlier announced strike in August 2019 said, “82,000 Central government employees working as defence civilian employees will lose their status and they will become employees of a corporation, thereby depriving them of various benefits available to them.” Surprisingly, a statement on the website of the OFB states, “undoubtedly, we are the force behind the armed forces.” They are anything but that.

The move to incorporate the private sector into defence production has also been met with strong resistance. Ravindran Pillai, vice president of one of the unions of the OFB stated, “Any private manufacturer always only looks at profit. His national interest will be the last. Quality assurance in the private sector will be done by third party inspection and self-certification. It is putting the lives of our jawans and armed forces at risk. Ordnance factories only work for national interest.” These words ring hollow when the current performance of the OFB is considered. Globally, it is the private sector which arms national forces.

Despite all these theatrics and resistance, the government must not yield to pressure. Corporatisation is the only way forward.

The writer is a retired Major-General of the Indian Army.