Corporatisation of OFB will improve its efficiency in ordnance supplies: Govt
Sep 19, 2020
New Delhi [India], September 19 : The government said on Thursday that corporatisation of Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) will improve its autonomy, accountability and efficiency in ordnance supplies.
Minister of State for Defence Shripad Naik said in a written reply in Rajya Sabha that the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) in its meeting held on July 27 has approved to convert OFB, a subordinate office of Ministry of Defence, "into one or more than one 100 per cent government-owned corporate entities registered under the Companies Act 2013".
The Minister said the Government has taken note of the strike by workers of OFB against the proposed corporatisation in the notice dated August 4 from the three recognized Federations of Defence Civilian Employees, proposing to call an indefinite strike with effect from 6 am October 12.
"An Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) has been constituted under the Chairmanship of Minister of Defence to oversee and guide the entire process of the corporatisation of OFB, including transition support and redeployment plan of employees while safeguarding their wages and retirement benefits," he said.
"OFB products are priced on a cost-based methodology without charging any profit over the cost of production for supply to the armed forces. Since OFB is nominated as a production agency for supply of core items to the armed forces, no comparison with international prices can be made," he added.
