UNSTARRED QUESTION NO 4485 ORDNANCE FACTORIES

Question: Will the Minister of DEFENCE be pleased to satate :-

(a) whether the Government has fixed production targets of various ordnance factories;

(b) if so, the details thereof, factory-wise;

(c) whether these ordnance factories including the vehicle factory at Jabalpur have achieved these targets during the last three years;

(d) if not, the reasons therefor;

(e) whether the Ordnance Factory Board has recently reviewed the production capacity / performance of ordnance factories; and

(f) if so, the action being taken by the Government to achieve self-reliance in defence production and make the ordnance factories export oriented and to ensure their full capacity utilisation?

Answer: Minister of Defence (Shri A.K. Antony)

(a) to (d): Yes, Madam. The target for Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) is fixed by the Ministry every year. OFB thereafter divides the workload for different items of production including the components/sub-assembly and assembly amongst different Ordnance Factories based on the capacity, technical capability and product mix. The achievement against the target, in terms of Value of Issue, of the Ordnance Factories and OFB as a whole for the past 3 years is enclosed as Annexure-A.

OFB as a whole has met the targets for the year 2010-11 and 2011-2012. For the year 2009-10, the budgeted estimates were subsequently revised during the year to Rs. 8720 Crores against which the achievement was Rs. 8715 Crores. Vehicle Factory Jabalpur has exceeded the target in 2009-10 while the achievement against the target for the years 2010-11 and 2011-12 was 88% and 96% respectively.

(e) Yes, Madam

(f) Indigenization is a thrust area in OFB. Indigenization is achieved through a number of measures likes faster technology absorption, development of upgrades on its own, expansion of indigenous vender base, in-house R&D to develop substitute to imports etc.

Ordnance Factories are primarily mandated to meet the demand of the Defence Forces. Export opportunities are explored to utilize the spare capacity after meeting the requirement of the Defence Forces; which in the recent past has gone up substantially. In order to meet the enhanced requirement of the Armed Forces not only the existing capacity is being utilized to the maximum extent but a number of capacity augmentation projects have also been taken up in OFB.

Annexure