The Directorate of Ordnance (Coordination & Services) (abbreviated: DOO(C&S)) is an authority under the Department of Defence Production (DDP) of Ministry of Defence (MoD),

Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

. Its primary work is to management, give instructions and make coordination of government ordnance production public companies. It is the main regulatory body of Indian Ordnance and its administration

civil service The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...

, Indian Ordnance Factories Service (IOFS). The DOO(C&S) earlier known as Ordnance Factory Board (OFB), consisting of the Indian Ordnance Factories. In 2021, Government having corporatise the functions of the 41 Indian Ordnance Factories into 7 Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs), the Government is merging them again in 2024, as the output of one factory serves as the input of the other. OFB was the 37th-largest defence equipment manufacturer in the world, 2nd-largest in

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

, and the largest in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. OFB was the world's largest government-operated production organisation, and the oldest organisation in India. It had a total workforce of about 80,000. It was often called the "Fourth Arm of Defence", and the "Force Behind the Armed Forces" of India. Its total sales were at () in the year 2020–'21. It was engaged in research, development, production, testing, marketing and logistics of a product range in the areas of air, land and sea systems. OFB consisted of forty-one ordnance factories, nine training institutes, three regional marketing centres and four regional controllerates of safety, which are spread all across the country. Every year, 18 March is celebrated as the Ordnance Factory Day in India.

History

Origins

The Indian Ordnance Factories predate all the other organisations like the Indian Army and the

Indian Railways Indian Railways is a state-owned enterprise that is organised as a departmental undertaking of the Ministry of Railways (India), Ministry of Railways of the Government of India and operates India's national railway system. , it manages the fou ...

by over a century. The first Indian ordnance factory can trace its origins back to the year 1712 when the Dutch Ostend Company established a Gun Powder Factory in Ichhapur. In 1787, another

gunpowder Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, charcoal (which is mostly carbon), and potassium nitrate, potassium ni ...

factory was established at Ichapore; it began production in 1791, and the site was later used as a rifle factory, beginning in 1904. In 1801, Gun Carriage Agency (now known as Gun & Shell Factory, Cossipore) was established at Cossipore, Calcutta, and production began on 18 March 1802. This is the oldest ordnance factory in India still in existence.

Contributions

The Indian Ordnance Factories have not only supported India through the wars, but also played an important role in building India, with the advancement of technology, and have ushered the

Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution, sometimes divided into the First Industrial Revolution and Second Industrial Revolution, was a transitional period of the global economy toward more widespread, efficient and stable manufacturing processes, succee ...

in India, starting with the first modern steel, aluminium, copper plants of India, first modern electric textile mill of India, first chemical industries of India, established the first engineering colleges of India, as its training schools, sparked India's first war of independence in 1857 with its rifles and bullets, and also played key role in the founding of research and industrial organisations like

ISRO The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO ) is India's national space agency, headquartered in Bengaluru, Karnataka. It serves as the principal research and development arm of the Department of Space (DoS), overseen by the Prime Minister o ...

, DRDO, BDL, BEL, BEML,

SAIL A sail is a tensile structure, which is made from fabric or other membrane materials, that uses wind power to propel sailing craft, including sailing ships, sailboats, windsurfers, ice boats, and even sail-powered land vehicles. Sails may b ...

, etc.

Timeline

* 1712 – Establishment of the Dutch Ostend Company's Gun Powder Factory at Ichhapur. * 1775 – Establishment of the Board of Ordnance at Fort William, Kolkata. * 1787 – Establishment of the Gun Powder Factory at Ishapore. * 1791 – Production of Gun Powder begins at Ishapore. * 1801 – Establishment of Gun Carriage Agency at Cossipore, Kolkata. * 1802 – Production begins at Cossipore on 18 March. * 1935 – Indian Ordnance Service was introduced to administer the whole Defence Production Industry of India. * 1954 – Indian Ordnance Service (IOS) renamed to Indian Ordnance Factories Service (IOFS). * 1979 – Ordnance Factory Board is established on 2 April.

Restructuring OFB into seven DPSUs

On 17 June 2021, the Defence Ministry announced its plans to split the existing five operating divisions of OFB, in addition to parachutes and opto-electronics, into seven PSUs, wholly owned by the government. It was mentioned that all existing factories and employees will become a part of these seven PSUs. From 1 October 2021, OFB has been dissolved and all the management, control, operations and maintenance has been transferred to 7 newly formed Defence PSUs, namely: * Advanced Weapons and Equipment India Limited (AWE) * Armoured Vehicles Nigam Limited (AVANI) * Gliders India Limited (GIL) * India Optel Limited (IOL) * Munitions India Limited (MIL) * Troop Comforts Limited (TCL) * Yantra India Limited (YIL) The new companies were launched and dedicated to the nation on 15 October 2021. The Government is exploring the possibility of merging five of the seven defence public undertakings as of 2023, as the output of one factory serves as the input of the other.

Infrastructure and Management

Headquarters

* Ayudh Bhawan, Kolkata (main headquarter of DOO(C&S),) * Armoured Vehicles Headquarters, Chennai * Ordnance Equipment Factories Headquarters, Kanpur * DOO(C&S), New Delhi Office * Ordnance Factory Cell, Mumbai * Ordnance Factories Recruitment Centre, Nagpur

Apex Board

The Apex Board was headed by the Director General of Ordnance Factories (DGOF), who acts as the chairman of the board (ex officio Secretary to Government of India) and consisted of nine other members, who each held the rank of Additional DGOF. Ordnance factories were divided into five operating divisions, depending upon the type of the main products/technologies employed. These were: * Ammunition and Explosives * Weapons, Vehicles & Equipment * Materials and Components * Armoured Vehicles * Ordnance Equipment Group of Factories Each of the above group of factories was headed by a Member/Additional DGOF who was in the rank of Special Secretary to Government of India. The four remaining members were responsible for staff functions, viz personnel, finance, planning and material management, and technical services, and they operated from Kolkata.

List of Ordnance factories

Each ordnance factory was headed by a General Manager who is in the rank of Additional Secretary to the Government of India.

Training institutes, regional centres and controllerates

National Academy of Defence Production provides training to the IOFS officers in areas of technology, management, public administration as induction and re-orientation courses. There were Ordnance Factories Institutes of Learning (OFILs) in Ambajhari, Ambernath, Avadi, Dehradun, Ishapore, Khamaria, Kanpur and Medak. Each OFIL was headed by a principal director, and NADP by a senior principal director. NADP provided training to Group A officers, whilst the other eight institutes imparted training to Group B and Group C employees of the ordnance factories. OFB had Regional marketing centres and Regional controllerates of safety as well.

Joint Ventures

In 2017, the Department of Defence Production under the Ministry of Defence opened itself to for Joint Ventures with OFB and DRDO was also tasked with identifying their products and patents, with the scope of commercial production

Indo-Russia Rifles Private Limited (IRRPL), Amethi

A joint venture between Ordnance Factory Board (50.5%), Kalashnikov Concern (42%) and Rosonboronexport (7.5%) established to produce AK-203 (7.62×39mm) assault rifles intended for Indian Security Forces.

Indian Ordnance Factories Service (IOFS)

The Indian Ordnance Factories Service ( IOFS) is a civil service of the Government of India. IOFS officers are Gazetted (Group A) defence-civilian officers under the Ministry of Defence. IOFS is a multi-disciplinary composite cadre consisting of technical – engineers ( civil,

electrical Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter possessing an electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by Maxwel ...

mechanical Mechanical may refer to: Machine * Machine (mechanical), a system of mechanisms that shape the actuator input to achieve a specific application of output forces and movement * Mechanical calculator, a device used to perform the basic operations o ...

electronics Electronics is a scientific and engineering discipline that studies and applies the principles of physics to design, create, and operate devices that manipulate electrons and other Electric charge, electrically charged particles. It is a subfield ...

), technologists (

aerospace Aerospace is a term used to collectively refer to the atmosphere and outer space. Aerospace activity is very diverse, with a multitude of commercial, industrial, and military applications. Aerospace engineering consists of aeronautics and astron ...

, automotive, marine, industrial/product design,

computer A computer is a machine that can be Computer programming, programmed to automatically Execution (computing), carry out sequences of arithmetic or logical operations (''computation''). Modern digital electronic computers can perform generic set ...

nuclear Nuclear may refer to: Physics Relating to the nucleus of the atom: *Nuclear engineering *Nuclear physics *Nuclear power *Nuclear reactor *Nuclear weapon *Nuclear medicine *Radiation therapy *Nuclear warfare Mathematics * Nuclear space *Nuclear ...

optical Optics is the branch of physics that studies the behaviour and properties of light, including its interactions with matter and the construction of instruments that use or detect it. Optics usually describes the behaviour of visible, ultravio ...

chemical A chemical substance is a unique form of matter with constant chemical composition and characteristic properties. Chemical substances may take the form of a single element or chemical compounds. If two or more chemical substances can be combin ...

metallurgical Metallurgy is a domain of materials science and engineering that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their inter-metallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are known as alloys. Metallurgy encompasses both the ...

textile Textile is an Hyponymy and hypernymy, umbrella term that includes various Fiber, fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, Staple (textiles)#Filament fiber, filaments, Thread (yarn), threads, and different types of #Fabric, fabric. ...

leather Leather is a strong, flexible and durable material obtained from the tanning (leather), tanning, or chemical treatment, of animal skins and hides to prevent decay. The most common leathers come from cattle, sheep, goats, equine animals, buffal ...

) and non-technical/administrative (

science Science is a systematic discipline that builds and organises knowledge in the form of testable hypotheses and predictions about the universe. Modern science is typically divided into twoor threemajor branches: the natural sciences, which stu ...

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

commerce Commerce is the organized Complex system, system of activities, functions, procedures and institutions that directly or indirectly contribute to the smooth, unhindered large-scale exchange (distribution through Financial transaction, transactiona ...

management Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a Government agency, government bodies through business administration, Nonprofit studies, nonprofit management, or the political s ...

and

arts The arts or creative arts are a vast range of human practices involving creativity, creative expression, storytelling, and cultural participation. The arts encompass diverse and plural modes of thought, deeds, and existence in an extensive ...

graduates). Technical posts account for about 87% of the total cadre. The doctors ( surgeons and

physicians A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the study, diagnosis, prognosis ...

) serving in OFB belong to a separate service known as the Indian Ordnance Factories Health Service (IOFHS). IOFHS officers are responsible for the maintenance of health of the employees, and the hospitals of OFB. They report directly to the IOFS officers. IOFS and IOFHS are the only two civil services under the Department of Defence Production.

Products

The type of ordnance material produced is very diverse, including various

small arms A firearm is any type of gun that uses an explosive charge and is designed to be readily carried and operated by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see legal definitions). The first firearms originate ...

missile A missile is an airborne ranged weapon capable of self-propelled flight aided usually by a propellant, jet engine or rocket motor. Historically, 'missile' referred to any projectile that is thrown, shot or propelled towards a target; this ...

rocket A rocket (from , and so named for its shape) is a vehicle that uses jet propulsion to accelerate without using any surrounding air. A rocket engine produces thrust by reaction to exhaust expelled at high speed. Rocket engines work entirely ...

bomb A bomb is an explosive weapon that uses the exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy. Detonations inflict damage principally through ground- and atmosphere-transmitted mechan ...

grenade A grenade is a small explosive weapon typically thrown by hand (also called hand grenade), but can also refer to a Shell (projectile), shell (explosive projectile) shot from the muzzle of a rifle (as a rifle grenade) or a grenade launcher. A mod ...

military vehicle A military vehicle is any vehicle for land-based military transport and activity, including combat vehicles, both specifically designed for or significantly used by military. Most military vehicles require Off-road vehicle, off-road capabilities ...

s, armoured vehicles,

chemicals A chemical substance is a unique form of matter with constant chemical composition and characteristic properties. Chemical substances may take the form of a single element or chemical compounds. If two or more chemical substances can be combin ...

, optical devices,

parachute A parachute is a device designed to slow an object's descent through an atmosphere by creating Drag (physics), drag or aerodynamic Lift (force), lift. It is primarily used to safely support people exiting aircraft at height, but also serves va ...

mortars Mortar may refer to: * Mortar (weapon), an indirect-fire infantry weapon * Mortar (masonry), a material used to fill the gaps between blocks and bind them together * Mortar and pestle, a tool pair used to crush or grind * Mortar, Bihar, a village i ...

artillery Artillery consists of ranged weapons that launch Ammunition, munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, and l ...

pieces plus all associated

ammunition Ammunition, also known as ammo, is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. The term includes both expendable weapons (e.g., bombs, missiles, grenades, land mines), and the component parts of oth ...

propellant A propellant (or propellent) is a mass that is expelled or expanded in such a way as to create a thrust or another motive force in accordance with Newton's third law of motion, and "propel" a vehicle, projectile, or fluid payload. In vehicle ...

explosives An explosive (or explosive material) is a reactive substance that contains a great amount of potential energy that can produce an explosion if released suddenly, usually accompanied by the production of light, heat, sound, and pressure. An exp ...

and

fuses Munitions, Fuse or FUSE may refer to: Devices * Fuse (electrical), a device used in electrical systems to protect against excessive current ** Fuse (automotive), a class of fuses for vehicles * Fuse (hydraulic), a device used in hydraulic systems ...

Civilian products

Civilians are required to hold an Arms License (issued only for non-prohibited bore category weapons) in order to buy firearms in India. The following products of the Indian Ordnance Factories Board are available for civilians:

Arms

* IOF .22 revolver * IOF .32 revolver (7.65 mm X 23) * IOF .32 revolver Nirbheek * IOF .32 pistol Ashani * IOF .22 sporting rifle * IOF .315 sporting rifle * IOF .30-06 sporting rifle

Ammunition

* Cartridge Rimfire .22" Ball * Cartridge SA .32" Revolver * Cartridge SA .315" and .30-06 Ball * Cartridge SA 12 Bore 70mm * Cartridge SA 12 Bore 65 mm Special

Military Products

These products are exclusively manufactured for use by the armed forces and are not sold to civilians. , File:Pistol Auto 9 mm 1A - Kolkata 2012-01-23 8779.JPG, Pistol Auto 9 mm 1A, manufactured by RFI File:DRDO MC Rifle.jpg, Multi Caliber Individual Weapon System (MCIWS) by OFT File:Carl Gustav recoilless rifle.jpg, 84mm Shoulder-fired Rocket Launcher / Recoilless Gun by OFT File:The Minister of State for Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (IC), Shri Giriraj Singh visiting the exhibition, at the Defence & Homeland Security Expo and Conference 2018, in New Delhi on September 07, 2018.JPG, Minister holding a 40 mm Multi Grenade Launcher (MGL) and on the table the 38 mm Multi Shell Launcher both manufactured by OFT File:DRDOJVPC.png , Joint Venture Protective Carbine (JVPC) to be manufactured by OFT File:AGS-30 maks2009.jpg, AGS-30 Automatic Grenade Launcher by OFT File:RPG-7 detached.jpg, Rocket Propelled Grenade Launcher by OFT File:NTW-20 rifle.jpg, Vidhwansak Anti-material Sniper Rifle by OFT File:Pinaka MBRL.jpg, Pinaka rockets manufactured by OFAJ and the launcher by VFJ File:IA Artillery.jpg,

Dhanush Venkatesh Prabhu Kasthuri Raja (born 28 July 1983), known professionally as Dhanush, is an Indian actor, filmmaker, lyricist and playback singer who primarily works in Tamil cinema. Having starred in Dhanush filmography, 50 films over his car ...

155 mm artillery gun in L39, L45 and L52 configurations by GCF File:OFB-BEML 155 mm Truck-mounted Self-Propelled Gun System.jpg, VFJ-GCF 8X8 155 mm Truck-mounted Self-Propelled Gun System File:VFJ-GCF 105 mm Truck-mounted Self-Propelled Gun System.jpg, VFJ-GCF 105 mm Truck-mounted Self-Propelled Gun System, in 6X6 and 4X4 configurations File:Fire power demo by Artillery of Indian Army.jpg, VFJ-GCF Sharang Towed Gun File:BM-30 Smerch MLRS.jpg, Smerch rockets produced at OFAJ and launcher at VFJ File:Vehicle Factory Jabalpur (VFJ)'s Matang Truck for the Indian Army.jpg, Matang was completely developed and manufactured by VFJ. File:VFJ Flyer Internally-Transportable Vehicle (ITV), Light Strike Vehicle (LSV).jpg, VFJ Flyer Light Strike Vehicle File:Vehicle Factory Jabalpur (VFJ)'s Mine Protected Vehicle.jpg, 4X4 Mine Protected Vehicle, also in 6X6 configuration, with RCWS, recce and recovery variants File:Vehicle Factory Jabalpur (VFJ)'s LPTA 715 Truck for the Indian Army.jpg, VFJ LPTA 715 File:Vehicle Factory Jabalpur (VFJ)'s Bullet Proof Vehicle.jpg, VFJ 4X4 Bullet Proof Vehicle File:Vehicle Factory Jabalpur (VFJ)'s Stallion Truck for the Indian Army.jpg, VFJ Stallion Mark I, now being replaced by Stallion Mark IV File:Anti-G Suit MSF830.jpg, g-suits for Indian Air Force pilots flying the supersonic aircraft , , Bulletproof vests File:Bulletproof Vest - DRDO - Pride of India - Exhibition - 100th Indian Science Congress - Kolkata 2013-01-03 2577.JPG, Bulletproof Vest File:The Air Officer Commanding-In-Chief, Western Command, IAF, Air Marshal NAK Browne AVSM VM paying tribute to the war heroes by laying wreath at Siachen War Memorial, during his visit to Siachen Base Camp.jpg, High-altitude, low-temperature, waterproof combat uniforms File:Soldier CBRN.jpg, Chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) suit File:Indian Air Force paratroopers at Air Force Day Parade 2012.jpg, Parachutes manufactured at OPF Kanpur File:Indian Navy rescue boat belonging to INS Ranvijay (D55) during Exercise INDRA 2014.jpg, Inflatable boat Prashant manufactured at OPF Kanpur File:Indian Army CWG.jpg, Hot air balloons manufactured at OEF Hazratpur File:Bridge Layer Tank on Ajeya manufactured by Heavy Vehicles Factory (HVF) of Ordnance Factory Board.jpg, Bridge Layer Tank manufactured by HVF Chennai File:Indian Army T-90.jpg,

T-90 The T-90 is a third-generation Russian main battle tank developed from, and designed to replace the T-72. It uses a 125mm 2A46 smoothbore main gun, the 1A45T fire-control system, an upgraded engine, and gunner's thermal sight. Standard p ...

Bhishma tank built at HVF Chennai File:T-72 FWMP.jpg, Full-width mine plough built by HVF Chennai File:Arjun Mk II side (2).JPG, Arjun Mark-II tank File:T-90 engine.jpg, Bhishma's engine at Engine Factory Avadi, Chennai File:Surface Mine Clearing System on Sarath manufactured by Ordnance Factory Medak.jpg, Surface Mine Clearing System manufactured by Ordnance Factory Medak File:AKASH Missiles.jpg, Akash missile's warhead, propellants and its launchers on Ajeya and Sarath File:NAMICS Republic day Parade 2024.jpg, Nag missile carrier (Namica) with propellants and explosives for the Nag anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) File:Agni-V during its first test flight.jpg, Propellants for the

Agni Agni ( ) is the Deva (Hinduism), Hindu god of fire. As the Guardians of the directions#Aṣṭa-Dikpāla ("Guardians of Eight Directions"), guardian deity of the southeast direction, he is typically found in southeast corners of Hindu temples. ...

missile series File:BrahMos.jpg, Explosive warheads and propellants for the

BrahMos The BrahMos (also designated as PJ-10)Prahaar missile File:GSLV Mk III Lift Off 1.jpg, Explosives used in stage separation of GSLV are provided by OFB File:Insat-1B.jpg, Special metals and alloys used to build satellites of

are supplied by OFB, along with precision instrumentation and optoelectronics File:PSLV-C11 SLP.jpg, OFB supplies the propellants and explosives for PSLV to ISRO File:Mi-35 Hind Akbar.jpg, IAF Mi-35 Hind Akbar's rockets, bombs and armaments File:SU-30MKI-g4sp - edit 2(clipped).jpg, IAF Su-30MKI's rockets, bombs, missiles, armaments and parachutes File:Tejas MK1.jpg,

HAL Tejas The HAL Tejas () is an Indian single-engine, delta wing, Multirole combat aircraft, multirole Military aircraft, combat aircraft designed by the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) and manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for t ...

uses armaments such as OFT's 23 mm GSh-23 Cannon and bombs File:HAL Rudra at Aero India 2013.JPG, IA HAL Rudra's anti-tank, air-to-air and anti-ship missiles, rockets and torpedoes File:INS Kadmatt - AK-630 Side View.jpg,

AK-630 The AK-630 is a Soviet Union, Soviet and Russian fully automatic naval, rotary cannon, close-in weapon system. The "630" designation refers to the weapon's six gun barrels and their 30 mm caliber. The system is mounted in an enclosed automatic ...

close-in weapon system, the mainstay of most Indian naval ships is built at GSF Kolkata File:CRN-91 on ICGS Shaunak.jpg, CRN-91 Naval Gun is the main armament of most Indian Coast Guard vessels is built at OFT Trichy and OFMK Hyderabad File:INS Satpura - SRGM Main Gun.jpg, 76 mm SRGM built by FGK Kanpur is on board the INS Vikrant and all the new vessels of the Indian Navy, its ammunition is manufactured at OFK Jabalpur File:INS Chennai launching RBU-6000 Anti-Submarine Rocket (ASW) manufactured by the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB).jpg, RBU-6000 anti-submarine rocket launcher and its rockets such as RGB-12 and RGB-60 are built at HAPP Trichy and AFK Pune File:Russian 3.9-inch guns.JPEG, AK-100 Gun and its ammunition manufactured at GSF Kolkata File:INS Chennai launching a Kavach Rocket from the Kavach Chaff Rocket Launcher manufactured by the Ordnance Factory Board.jpg, Kavach anti-missile naval decoy rockets and its launchers are built AFK Pune and MTPF Mumbai respectively

Customers

Armed Forces

The prime customers of Indian Ordnance Factories were the

Indian Armed Forces The Indian Armed Forces are the armed forces, military forces of the India, Republic of India. It consists of three professional uniformed services: the Indian Army, the Indian Navy, and the Indian Air Force.—— Additionally, the Indian Ar ...

viz. Indian Army, Indian Navy and the Indian Air Force. Apart from supplying armaments to the Armed Forces, Ordnance Factories also meet the requirements of other customers viz. the

Central Armed Police Forces The Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) consist of seven armed police organizations under the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), Government of India, tasked with maintaining internal security, law and order, counterinsurgency, and protecting borde ...

, State Armed Police Forces, Paramilitary Forces of India and the Special Forces of India in respect of arms, ammunition, clothing, bullet proof vehicles, mine protected vehicles etc.

Civil trade

Customers are in the civil sector, central/state government organisations and departments such as

Indian Space Research Organisation The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO ) is India's national List of government space agencies, space agency, headquartered in Bengaluru, Karnataka. It serves as the principal research and development arm of the Department of Space (DoS), ...

Defence Research and Development Organisation The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is an agency under the Department of Defence Research and Development in the Ministry of Defence of the Government of India, charged with the military's research and development, head ...

, Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre, Nuclear Fuel Complex, Aeronautical Development Agency, Department of Atomic Energy,

Department of Telecommunications The Department of Telecommunications, abbreviated to DoT, is a department of the Ministry of Communications of the executive branch of the Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union ...

, and State Electricity Boards.

Public Sector Undertakings in India Public Sector Undertakings (PSU) in India are government-owned entities in which at least 51% of stake is under the ownership of the Government of India or state governments. These types of firms can also be a joint venture of multiple PSUs. ...

(PSUs) such as HMT Limited,

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) is an Indian public sector aerospace and defence company, headquartered in Bengaluru. Established on 23 December 1940, HAL is one of the oldest and largest aerospace and defence manufacturers in the world. H ...

, Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited, Bharat Dynamics Limited, private companies and individuals etc. who purchased industrial chemicals, explosives, arms, ammunition, brass ingots, aluminium alloy products for aircraft, steel castings and forgings, vehicles, clothing and leather goods, cables and opto-electronic instruments.

Exports

Arms and ammunition, weapon spares, chemicals and explosives, parachutes, leather and clothing items were exported to more than 30 countries worldwide. * Asia: Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Vietnam, Nepal, Singapore * Europe: Germany, Belgium, Cyprus, Greece, Turkey, Russia, Sweden, France, Switzerland, United Kingdom * Middle East: Oman, Egypt, Israel, Saudi Arabia, UAE * Africa: Kenya, Botswana, Nigeria * North and South America: United States, Canada, Brazil, Chile, Suriname

Notable employees

* Narinder Singh Kapany – Former IOFS officer. Invented

fibre optics An optical fiber, or optical fibre, is a flexible glass or plastic fiber that can transmit light from one end to the other. Such fibers find wide usage in fiber-optic communications, where they permit transmission over longer distances and at ...

that revolutionised laparoscopic and endoscopic surgery, telecommunications, power transmission, etc. Named as one of the seven "Unsung Heroes of the 20th century" by Fortune magazine for his

Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; ; ) are awards administered by the Nobel Foundation and granted in accordance with the principle of "for the greatest benefit to humankind". The prizes were first awarded in 1901, marking the fifth anniversary of Alfred N ...

-deserving invention. Known as the "Father of Fibre Optics" and "The Man who Bent Light". Former professor at Stanford, Universities of California at Berkeley, Santa Barbara and Santa Cruz. Had more than 150 patents to his credit. Conferred upon with Padma Vibhushan, the second-highest honour in India, Pravasi Bharatiya Samman, Fellowship of the Royal Academy of Engineering (FREng). He was also offered the post of Scientific Adviser to the Defence Minister of India, by the first Prime Minister of India,

Jawaharlal Nehru Jawaharlal Nehru (14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat, and statesman who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20th century. Nehru was a pr ...

. * Mantosh Sondhi - IOFS. Served as the first General Manager of the Heavy Vehicles Factory,https://www.cepm.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/global-symposium-1993-brochure.pdf founding Chairman & Managing Director of Bokaro Steel Plant, Member of the

Atomic Energy Commission of India The Atomic Energy Commission of India is the governing body of the Department of Atomic Energy (India), Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), Government of India. The DAE is under the direct charge of the Prime Minister of India, Prime Minister. ...

. First IOFS officer and first non-IAS officer to hold the posts of

Secretary A secretary, administrative assistant, executive assistant, personal secretary, or other similar titles is an individual whose work consists of supporting management, including executives, using a variety of project management, program evalu ...

Ministry of Heavy Industries The Ministry of Heavy Industries is an executive agency of the Government of India. The Ministry entails for promoting the engineering industry viz. machine tools, heavy electrical, industrial machinery, and auto industry and administration o ...

Ministry of Steel The Ministry of Steel is an executive branch agency of the Government of India that is responsible for formulating all policies regarding steel production, distribution and pricing in India. As of June 2024, the ministry is headed by a Secretary ...

, Ministry of Mines and Ministry of Coal. Awarded

Padma Shri The Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī'', lit. 'Lotus Honour'), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. In ...

by the

President of India The president of India (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the head of state of the Republic of India. The president is the nominal head of the executive, the first citizen of the country, and the commander-in-chief, supreme commander of the Indian Armed ...

, Commander of the Order of the Lion of Finland by the

President of Finland The president of the Republic of Finland (; ) is the head of state of Finland. The incumbent president is Alexander Stubb, since 1 March 2024. He was elected president for the first time in 2024 Finnish presidential election, 2024. The presi ...

. The headquarters of Confederation of Indian Industry is named in his honour. He also served as the Chairman of several MNCs such as Ashok Leyland, ABB,

Wärtsilä Wärtsilä Oyj Abp (), trading internationally as Wärtsilä Corporation, is a Finnish corporation, Finnish company which manufactures and services power sources and other equipment in the Marine propulsion, marine and energy markets. The core ...

. * Nalini Ranjan Mohanty - Former IOFS officer. Secured All India 2nd Rank in the Engineering Services Examination of 1965, served as the Chairman & Managing Director of

, Director of Kudremukh Iron Ore Company, Mahanadi Coalfields, National Aluminium Company (NALCO), Bharat Earth Movers (BEML). Awarded

in 2004 by the

for his role in the development of LCA – Tejas. * Brijmohan Lall Munjal - Founder of Hero MotoCorp, the world's largest two-wheeler manufacturer, and Hero Cycles, world's largest cycle manufacturer. Awarded

Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan (IAST: ''Padma Bhūṣaṇa'', lit. 'Lotus Decoration') is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 Januar ...

. * H. P. S. Ahluwalia – IOFS. First Indian to climb

Mount Everest Mount Everest (), known locally as Sagarmatha in Nepal and Qomolangma in Tibet, is Earth's highest mountain above sea level. It lies in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas and marks part of the China–Nepal border at it ...

. Author, mountaineer, social worker. Founder & Chairman of Indian Spinal Injuries Centre. Conferred on with the

Arjuna Award The Arjuna Award, officially known as Arjuna Awards given for Outstanding Performance in Sports and Games, is the second-highest sporting honour of India, the highest being the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award. The award is named after Arjun ...

and

by the Government of India, Fellowship of Royal Geographical Society (FRGS). Also served as a Commissioned officer in the Indian Army and Member of

Planning Commission (India) The Planning Commission was an institution in the Government of India which formulated India's Five-Year Plans, among other functions. In his first Independence Day speech in 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced his intention to disso ...

. * Santu Shahaney - IOFS. Served as the Director General Ordnance Factories (DGOF). He was awarded

in 1962, and

in 1965, by the

, in the Civil Service category, for his contributions during the Indo-China War of 1962 and the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, respectively. * R. M. Muzumdar - IOFS. Second Indian Director General of the Indian Ordnance Factories. He was awarded the

by the Government of India, in 1973, in the Civil service category, for his contributions during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 * Waman Dattatreya Patwardhan - IOFS officer. Developed the solid propellant for India's first space rocket launched from Thumba, and the detonation system of India's first nuclear bomb used in Operation Smiling Buddha. Served at the Ammunition Factory Khadki, and as the first Director of High Energy Materials Research Laboratory (HEMRL) and the Armaments Research and Development Establishment (ARDE) of the

(DRDO). Awarded

in 1974. * H. G. S. Murthy - IOFS. Known as one of the "Seven Pioneers of the Indian Space Programme". He served at the Machine Tool Prototype Factory (MTPF), Ambernath, and as the first Director of the Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station (TERLS), and the Space Science & Technology Centre, now known as the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). Awarded

in 1969. *K. C. Banerjee - IOFS. Received

in 1967, for his contributions during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, as the General Manager of Rifle Factory Ishapore, that developed and manufactured the 7.62 Self-Loading Automatic Rifle, that played decisive role in India's victory in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965. * O. P. Bahl, an IOFS officer. Received

in 1972, in the civil-service category, as the General Manager of Ammunition Factory Khadki, which developed and manufactured the anti-submarine rockets used in sinking the submarine PNS Ghazi during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971.

References

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