The Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) is poised to bridge the near 25-year void of the Indian Army's requirement of artillery guns.
"Today OFB is in a position to
offer not only the Bofors gun but even the upgraded version of Bofors
gun," Director General Ordnance Factory (DGOF) and Chairman OFB, Shri
Sashi Dhar Dimri said on the sidelines of the 210th anniversary of OFB
in Kolkata, on Monday.
OFB is readying the upgraded version of
Bofors gun from its original 39-calibre to a 45-calibre gun, with
mechanical and electronic suite upgrades, for field trials by January
2013.
"We are working on this upgraded
version. This has been tried out in PXE (Proof and Experimental
Establishment), Balasore." he stated. Extensive firing has been carried
out at PXE Balasore as part of the internal evaluation.
"Based on the guns supplied by the
army, ab-initio we shall be manufacturing the gun and we are confident
that in the beginning of 2013, our GCF (Gun Carriage Factory), Jabalpur
will be in a position to field the gun for trial purposes," he said.
While one gun has been upgraded
with the electronic suite incorporating ballistic computers, servo
valves and communication systems to provide automation, the second gun
has been upgraded by fitting a new 45 calibre long barrel, enabling it
to achieve a range of 40 kms.
Meanwhile, in a written statement
in the Parliament on Monday, Defence Minister Shri AK Antony stated:
The government had secured the right of transfer of technology during
the purchase of Bofors guns. Though all the technological documents as
per the ToT contract were received by OFB from M/s AB Bofors, the
Transfer of Technology was not carried forward as the dealings with the
technology provider, (M/s AB Bofors) were suspended. Further, no indent
was placed by Army on OFB for manufacture and supply of complete gun
system.
Capital expenditure of Rs. 376.55
crore has been sanctioned by the Government in March, 2012 for
creation/augmentation of Large Calibre Weapon manufacturing capacity in
Ordnance Factories.
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Parliamentary Panel Confirms Lack of Critical Equipment and Military Preparedness
The Defence Ministry’s insensitivity towards the requirements of
the Indian Army has been once again exposed as the Parliamentary
Standing Committee on Defence revealed the bleak state of India’s
military preparedness. In the report tabled in the Parliament, the
committee has strongly recommended immediate attention on the issue of
shortage of armaments with the Army at various fronts.
The Parliamentary Standing Committee’s report only corroborates
the Army Chief’s concern which was the lack of army-aviation, tank
ammunition and artillery for the army. Despite the Defence Minister
trashing all reports concerning critical shortages in the army as
rumours and the Annual Defence Report 2011-12 painting a bright picture
of the Indian Army and its capabilities, the cat is finally out of the
bag.
The Committee’s report has indicated that there are huge gaps
between the sanctioned and existing aircraft with the Army Aviation. As
per the report, the Indian Army is short of 155 helicopters. As for the
existing Cheetah/Chetak helicopters which are used for maintenance at
high-altitude forward bases, these are also reaching obsolescence and
need replacement. However, no new choppers are in sight for the army as
the tender for 197 helicopters was scrapped in 2007 and the new tender
is about to meet the same fate. The report stated that there is
shortage of 18 Cheetah, 1 Chetak, 76 Advance Light Helicopter (ALH) and
60 Advance Light Helicopter (Weapons Systems Integrated) with Army
Aviation.
Regarding the issue of tank ammunition and artillery, the
committee has agreed with the Indian Army Chief’s contention and the
critical shortage in this area. Following the blacklisting of the
Israeli Military Industries (IMI), the problem has become magnified.
There has been major depletion in the Indian Army’s armored piercing
tank ammunition following the blacklisting of the Israeli Firm IMI. The
army was relying on IMI for its ammunition after the state-run Ordnance
Factory Board’s ammunition failed to pass the trials.
The Committee has also remarked on the issue of artillery guns
stating that the up gradation of the Bofors 155mm guns has taken a long
time and several years have passed after the transfer of technology.
The Committee was appalled to see such a deficiency of gun systems in
the army and how the military preparedness is being compromised in the
country. Currently, OFB has been handed over the project.
While three new defense deals pertaining to sub-machine guns,
thermal imagers and target designators for the Indian Army have been
signed to boost the surveillance and firepower capabilities, these
deals are barely significant compared to the mega deals for the Air
Force and the Navy. Hence, fast-tracking of procurements for the Indian
Army must be top priority, the report added.
CAG raps MoD for reckless spending
Ajay Banerjee
Tribune News Service New Delhi, August 8 The Comptroller
and Auditor General (CAG) has ripped apart the Ministry of Defence for
recklessly spending crores of rupees and impacting operational
preparedness of the forces.
The CAG report on Army,
Ordnance factories and DRDO tabled in Parliament yesterday said that
the MoD purchased vintage, non-working missiles, allowed setting up of
a gun-making unit that does not manufacture guns and even “maintained”
products that do not exist in the inventory.
“…the Ministry does not appear to be serious about implications… of
defective equipment,” the CAG report said. Pointing out the
lackadaisical attitude of the Defence Public Sector Undertakings
established to provide the Armed Forces with state-of-the-art
equipment, the CAG says there has been a “role reversal”. The
Ministry procured outdated missiles of 1970s worth Rs 587 crore in 2008
merely to favour Bharat Dynamics Limited. “…The missiles procured were
not only of lower capabilities in terms of range, but also did not meet
the Army’s long-term objective of acquiring third generation missiles
which were available in the market,” the Comptroller and Auditor
General said. The CAG also
commented on procurement of the Multi Barrel Rocket Launcher System
(SMERCH), often proudly displayed at the Republic Day parade. The Rs
2633 crore system has critical defects. Similarly, the Ordnance Factory
at Korwa in Amethi was sanctioned Rs 408 crore to produce new
generation carbines -- guns with rapid firing capability -- for the
Army. However, the type of carbine to be produced is yet to be decided.
Unexplainably, the Army
paid for the maintenance of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles that which were
not even held by it. In another case, it procured spares for a
particular gun and later found those to be non-compatible and hence
could not be fitted in the gun. The
CAG also pointed out at defective ammunition worth Rs 245 crore lying
unused for six years. Another typical case of defective purchase was
procurement of oxygen mask-embedded helmets used by chopper pilots
operating at altitudes of beyond 14,000 feet. The oxygen masks had to
be withdrawn as pilots experienced serious defects like insufficient
supply of oxygen. The masks were purchased with an evaluation. Appallingly,
assault boats required urgently by the Army could not be procured for
over six years despite a budget and adequate number of vendors.
1. ORDNANCE FACTORIES
Unstarred 4876
26/4/2010
(a) the quantum of defence production made by the ordnance factories
vis-à-vis the defence requirements;
(b) whether the Government proposes to modernise and expand the ordnance
factories;
(c) if so, the details thereof including the plan, if any, to utilize
the acquired land in Badmal ordnance factory for expansion;
(d) the funds earmarked, allocated and spent on the modernisation
programme separately and the future action plan to achieve the required
level of indigenisation of defence systems;
(e) whether the Government proposes to set up new ordnance factories in
this regard; and
(f) if so, the details thereof? ANSWER
MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF DEFENSE (SHRI M.M. PALLAM RAJU)
(a) The quantum of defence production made by Ordnance
Factories for last three years is given below:
Year
Value of Issues(Rs. in crores)
2007-2008
5757
2008-2009
6083
2009-2010
8720
(b) Ordnance Factories are being modernised continuously to keep pace
with development of technology. Army & MHA have recently indicated long
term requirements, which are substantially higher than the present
production level. As such, OFB has undertaken action to augment the
capacity wherever required.
(c) & (d):The planned investment for modernisation of Plant & Machinery
in Ordnance Factories in 11th & 12th Plan and cumulative expenditure
upto January 2010 are furnished as under:
Investment Plan for expenditure
modernization Plan (Rupees in Crore)
Planned
Expenditure during XIth 2010 during
XI th Plan (Rupees in crore)
Cumulative expenditure Upto January
Plan (Rupees in crore)
Planned during XIIth
1,707.50
970.24
2,100
At present, no expansion is planned at OF Badmal.
(e) & (f): At present, there is no proposal to set up a new ordnance
factory. 2. REVIEW OF PERFOMANCE OF ORDNANCE FACTORIES:
Unstarred Question 2061
20/7/2009
(a) Whether the Government has reviewed the performance of ordnance
factories in the country;
(b) If so, the details thereof;
(c) The targets set and achievements made by each ordnance factory,
including the ordnance factory at Saintala, Bolangir during the last
three years; and
(d) The steps taken to increase the production capacity of the
factories? ANSWER MINISTER OF THE STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF DEFENCE (SHRI M.M. PALLAM RAJU)
(a) & (b): Yes, Sir. The performance of Ordnance Factories is regularly
reviewed by the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) and the Ministry of Defence
at various levels.A production review meeting is held by OFB once in two
months in which the performance of ordnance factories is reviewed in
detail.The overall performance is reviewed by the Ministry of Defence at
various levels.There are also steering committees at the Ministry’s
level and working groups at the OFB level for reviewing the progress of
major projects such as MBT Arjun, Ordnance Factory, Nalanda, Ordnance
Factory, Korwa and the Pinaka Rocket Project.
(c) The factory-wise targets and achievements for the last 3 years
including Ordnance Factory, Bolangir are detailed in the Annexure.
(d) Ordnance Factory Board has recently worked out production capacity
of Ordnance Factories based on long term requirement of ammunitions and
armoured vehicles projected by Indian Army.Action has been taken to
augment capacity for production by positioning plant and machinery and
manpower to meet the requirement.
http://164.100.47.132/Annexture/lsq15/2/au2061.htm 3. UNUSED LAND IN DEFENCE PRODUCTION UNITS
Unstarred Question 1247
13/7/2009
(a)whether large acreages of lands are lying unused in various Defence
production units in the country;
(b) if so, the details thereof, including the unused lands in the
ordnance factory at Saintala in Orissa;
(c) Whether any action plan has been formulated to utilize the surplus
lands; and
(d) if not, the steps taken to surrender the surplus lands for other
developmental purposes? ANSWER
MINISTER OF STATE IN THE (SHRI M.M. PALLAM RAJU) MINISTRY OF DEFENCE
(a) No, Sir.
(b to (d) Do not arise.
Monday, May 14, 2012
The delivery of the six Scorpene submarines, which are being
constructed at the Mazagon Dock
Limited, Mumbai, has been revised and
the first vessel will be ready by June 2015, the government
told the
Lok Sabha today.
In
a written reply on delivery of the submarines being constructed under
Project-75, Defence
Minister A K Antony said, "The delivery schedule of
the first submarine has been revised to June
2015 and that of the last
submarine to September 2018."
The original delivery schedule of
the first submarine was December 2012 and remaining were to be
delivered with a gap of one year each.
"Consequent to the
approval of the government for revision of cost and delivery schedule,
the
delivery schedule of the first submarine has been revised," he said.
The
government approval for construction of the six submarines at MDL under
Project-75 was
accorded in September 2005 at a total cost of Rs 18,798
crore and the contract was signed in
October 2005, Antony said.
The
"government approval for revision in cost of the project to Rs 23,562
crore was accorded
in February 2010 along with revision in delivery
schedule," he said.
Delay in construction is attributable to
initial teething problems in absorption of new technology,
delay in
augmentation of industrial infrastructure at MDL and delay in
procurement of items due
to high cost as compared to the earlier
indicated cost, Antony said.
"Most of the teething problems have
been resolved and various plans have been put in place to
minimise
delays," he told the House.
On transfer of technology (ToT),
Antony said, "As part of TOT, a technical data package has
been
provided by the collaborator (French firm DCNS). This will enable
attainment of significant
indigenous competence in submarine
construction in the field of hull fabrication, outfitting, system
integration by the end of the programme."
Replying to a question
on ordnance factory fires, Minister of State for Defence M M Pallam
Raju said the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) has taken cognisance of all
incidents of fire
and blasts in ordnance factories and put in place
preventive measures to avoid recurrence.
"In every case of
fire/blast, Ordnance Factory Organisation has conducted a preliminary
investigation
and constituted a statutory board of inquiry with proper
terms of reference to find out the cause of
such incidents and to
suggest remedial measures," Raju said.
In most of the cases, it
is noted that the probable cause of accident was either due to
mechanical
failure of the equipment or due to non-observance of safety
regulations by the person concerned at
that point of time, he told the
House.
"All the remedial measures as suggested by the statutory
board of inquiry are being implemented
within stipulated time after
their acceptance by the competent authority. Stringent safety audits
are
also carried out to prevent recurrence of such incidents," he said.
Fresh Evidence
New Delhi:
Three weeks after the CBI arrested former chief of the Ordnance Factory
Board Sudipta Ghosh, crucial pieces are gradually fitting into the
jigsaw of procurements and pay-offs in what the agency calls the
“biggest corruption scandal in recent times”.
The progress in the CBI probe assumes
significance since the Government has put on hold procurement from the
seven companies under the scanner — four international and three
domestic. Army chief General Deepak Kapoor has already said that
India’s artillery upgrade has been delayed waiting for what the CBI
comes up with. Key to the investigation are
transcripts of intercepted conversations and testimonies of Ghosh and
four of his associates, all of whom are behind bars. Sources have
confirmed to The Sunday Express that “forensic matching” of voice
samples from the five suspects has been done and that all accused
except Pradeep Rana — one of Ghosh’s associates — have admitted to
having played a role either as middlemen for the OFB chief or as
conduits for alleged payoffs.
The quantum of defence production made by Ordnance Factories for last three years is given below:-
Year
Values of Issues
(In Rs. Crores)
2007 - 2008
5757
2008 - 2009
6083
2009 - 2010
8720
Ordnance Factories are being modernised continuously to keep pace with
development technology. Army & MHA have recently indicated long
term requirements, which are substantially higher than the present
production level. As such, OFB has undertaken action to augment the
capacity wherever required.
The planned investment for modernisation of Plant & Machinery in
Ordnance Factories in 11th & 12th Plan and cumulative expenditure
upto January 2010 are furnished as under:
Investment Plan for Modernisation
Planned expenditure during XI th Plan (in Rs.Crore)
Cumulative Expenditure upto January 2010 during XI th Plan (In Rs.Crore)
Planned expenditure during XII th Plan (In Rs.Crore)
-
1,707.50
970.24
2,100
At present, no expansion is planned at OF Badmal and there is no proposal to set up a new Ordnance Factory.
This information was given by Minister of State for Defence Shri MM
Pallam Raju in a written reply to Shri Rakesh Singh and others in Lok
Sabha today
Every
Junior Workas Managers of Ordnance Factories are not happy with OFB,since they
are not treated as Group B' Gazetted Officers. Calling them as gazetted
but treating them as supervisory staff without providing the supervisory
benefits . So they feel they are neigheer Gazetted officers nor Supervisosry
Staff. As on date there is no Seniority List. The present JWMs are from the
direct UPSC recruitees with degree qualition and few are merged AFs,SH and FMs
with or with out degree or diploma qualifiction with out any financial
benefits from the merger, and the promotees of CMs with out fixed qualification
got promotional benefits and some are passed limited departmental examintion.
So fixing seniority is a problem. The merged people got the seniority with
effect from 1-3-2006 , even thouth they were merged in 2011. The persons
promoted or recruited people after march 2006 are going to be juniors and the
case is at court. OFB is not having any seniorrty policy and takes
decisions as per their convenance and encourages people to approach courts. At
the same time there is no transfer policy. Merged people feels that they lost
the promotional benefits and their juniors got promotional benefits. The degree
holders feel that they are forced to work under less qualified people. OFB made these JWMs are bunch of qualified to unqualified, thus created a
lot confusion. One JWM has to work under one more just senior JWM, thus created an
unrest. This senior JWM who acts as HOS, initiates the ACR report of his junior
JWM. Most of the decisions are taken by the Higher up at OFB and not
bothers to consult the GMs, who are supposed to feel the heat of unrest ,at
factory production level.So most of GMs are not happy and not able to answer
the problems of JWMs. There is no carreer planing and cadre restructure for
these supervisory cadre of CM & JWMs at OFB. Only two functional posts for
supervisory cadre and more than 6 functional posts for officer cadre and
more than 4 functional posts for Industrial cadre. This is how OFB
functions. Really can they meet the defence needs in case of emergency of war
with neighbour countries.MOD feel most of the OF products are substandard and costly
and they won't get in time OFB functions with old drawings with fixed products, with out any
development. There is no Design and Development department and procurement
process. Some one questions the role of UPSC recruited IOFS cadre in
ordnance factories ? The product is fixed along with manufacturing methods with
machines, The Industrial employees are performing these things.The existing
supervisory staff guides them in production. Then what is the role of these
IOFS cadre is not know. Practially the GMs and Supervisory staff are performing
the duties along with the industrial staff. In many fadctorties, the GMs
approaches directly, the line supervisors for producting and the existing
AGMs,JT.GMs,DGM,AWMs are only arnmental in the organisation.and passing the
time with perks and status with out any duties and responsibilities. People say
that these IOFS cadre is neither technically sound nor administratively
sound... Now days factories are giving the group D employees
jobs.to privatge parfties in the name of out sourcing. Similarly the some of
the products are giving to the private parties. So where is the work for these
IOFS cadre, other than passing time. In the past one DGOF post is there,. Now one chairman / DGOF post and more
than 5 member posts, created for getting better perks and facilities with out
any responsibilities and accountability. NOW WHO SAVES THIS ORGANISATION ?
The New Association for JWMs of OFB started to take up the issues of JMSs .Association name is NATIONAL DEFENCE GROUP B GAZETTED OFFICERS ASSOCIATION.
To The Chairman, Ordnance Factory Board, Through-The General Manager/---------- 10-A,S.K.Bose road, Kolkatta. Sir
Sub: Earnest Pleas for reprisal of Grievances of “JUNIOR WORKS MANAGER”-Reg
The Executive Committee of this Association directed the
undersigned to request your kind intervention and necessary action for
the following points at the earliest please.
Ordnance Factory Board on 04/02/2011 published the merger of the posts
of AF (4358Group B Non Gazetted post) with JWM Technical (2553 GroupB
Gazetted posts) and FM NT/SH(653 Group B Non Gazetted posts) with JWM
NT/ST(131 Group B Gazetted posts) and declared all as Group B Gazetted
as JWM Tech/NT/Store (Total 7694 posts) .It is a matter of grave
concerned that there are no directives for demarcation of duties to be
performed by the 7694 JWM. It is relevant to mention that 5010 no’s of
AF/FM/SH who were shop floor level supervisory cadre were merged with
2684 no’s of JWM of managerial cadre. As a result some JWM continue to
function as Heads of Sections while the remaining, read those that
became JWMs after the mergers continue to do what they did as
Chargeman/AF/FM/SH. It is painful that even after more than a year of
publishing the order of merger, there are no clear guidelines regarding
duties and responsibility of JWM.
This being so, JWM (Tech,NT,ST) who are continuing to be detailed
for shop floor level supervision like operation of plants/process
buildings/workshop directly along with IES in three shifts and for
clerical work in different offices have not been granted the financial
benefit of OTA, NDA, APLB and Festival advance like supervisory staff
like CM,MCM,LDC,UDC,OS. If this is not injustice, then what is? After
being termed as JWM from AF, CM and OS, the nature of work has not
getting changed; on the contrary our responsibilities have only
increased. This is after 30% to 40% of the emoluments were slashed in
the form of termination of Overtime allowances and NDA without career
prospects. Monthly/yearly income of JWM by means of salary and other
allowances is very less compared to their subordinate employees. In
every organization the pay packets for different cadres of employees
are made according to their nature of work, responsibility, and
accountability. It is intriguing to note that in Ordnance Factories, a
JWM has to shoulder the higher responsibility that goes with a Gazetted
post without the accompanying financial benefits which is an insult to
the entire cadre. This is an unhealthy and unwelcome trend. Needless to
mention that it is smeared all over with injustice and partisanship.
It is relevant to mention that till 4th Central Pay Commission
(1994) erstwhile Foreman (now JWM) were granted basic pay was fixed
higher than basic pay of a Direct Entry group A cadre. During that
period a FM was bestowed with all financial benefits like OTA, NDA,
BONUS and he worked wholeheartedly for the organization but the middle
management which is the back bone of the organization was not granted
the required financial benefits resulting in demoralization. The
comparative studies of pay scales of erstwhile Foreman (now JWM) and
AWM are furnished below.
Post
Pay Scale
2nd CPC
Pay Scale
3RDCPC
Pay Scale
4TH CPC
Pay Scale
5TH CPC
Pay Band & Grade pay
Allotted initially as per 6TH CPC
Amended later
Awm
(Group A)
355-480
700-1600
2200-4000
8000-12000
15600-39100PB III with GP-5400
Nil
Foreman/ JWM
450-580
840-1600
2375-3500
7450-11500
9300-34800 PB II with GP-4600
Anomaly-Required To
be amended to PB III
It is pertinent to mention that in 5th CPC
JWMs (Group B Gazetted) were placed 7450-11500 in the pre-revised pay
scale where as Matron and Hindi officers were placed 6500-10500 which
was very lower as compared to JWM pay scale.
But latter the pay structure of Matron and Hindi officers was amended
and placed in PB III at 5400 Grade Pay. The comparative pay scales are
furnished below for your reference.
Post
Pay Scale
2nd CPC
Pay Scale
3RDCPC
Pay Scale
4TH CPC
Pay Scale
5TH CPC
Pay Band & Grade pay
Allotted initially as per 6TH CPC
Amended later
Matron
210-320
455-700
1640-2900
6500-10500
9300-34800 PBII with GP-4200
PB-III (15600-39100)
Hindi Officer
No post
No post
1640-2900
6500-10500
9300-34800 PBII with GP-4200
PB-III (15600-39100)
Foreman /JWM
450-580
840-1600
2375-3500
7450-11500
9300-34800 PB II with GP-4600
Anomaly-Required To
be amended to PB III
As per above comparisons JWM should be placed with 5400 Grade Pay. It
will be the real justice for the cadre and will boost up the morale of
the middle management cadre which is the backbone of the organization.
It is relevant to mention that according to the 6th CPC
recommendations there should be two levels of technical supervisory
cadre among workshop staff. But it just has not happened and one JWM
reports to another JWM (HOS) which is ridiculous. It is pathetic that
there is no clear policy on hierarchy of posts to run an industrial
establishment like Ordnance factories. To maintain the hierarchy in OFB
the no of AWM posts may be increased and they may be posted as section
heads in Ordnance Factories and on the brighter side prospects of
promotion for JWM will enhance.
JWM/Tech has been classified as Group B Gazetted Ministerial, which is hard to understand given that JWM/Tech is the largest Technical cadre of engineering Officers (total-6911 post)
in Ordnance Factory Board. This defies logic and shows lack of clarity
in thought. Therefore this association requests your good office to
remove the description ‘ministerial cadre’ in the new SRO which is being prepared by OFB for submission.
It is only through imaginative measures that our Organization can
attract talented youngsters to be a part of it and work for the
betterment of our Nation.
Therefore the Executive Committee of NDGBGO Association requests
your kind intervention and necessary action on the following genuine
demands at the earliest please.
Clear instruction on nature of work of JWM (whether Managerial or Supervisory).
Granting OTA, NDA, and BONUS to JWM cadre.
Removal of description MINISTERIAL CADRE from SRO of JWM
JWM should be placed at grade pay of 5400 in PB III.
Increase in AWM posts for maintaining hierarchy in OFB.
Time scale promotion of JWM.
The NDGBGOA pleads for your kind intervention and favorable
decision at the earliest failing which it may be reluctantly compelled
to seek legal recourse.
The Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) is poised to bridge the near 25-year void of the Indian Army's requirement of artillery guns.
