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Home / India News / 27 jawans killed in 6 years due to faulty ammo: Army report
india news


27 JAWANS KILLED IN 6 YEARS DUE TO FAULTY AMMO: ARMY REPORT

The army’s note said 159 soldiers were injured in accidents attributed to
OFB-supplied ammunition and armament between 2014 and 2020.
Army personnel stand guard during a gun battle with terrorists in Pulwama,
Kashmir.(PTI File Photo/Representative Image)
Updated on Sep 30, 2020 03:34 AM IST

Hindustan Times, New Delhi | ByRahul Singh

An internal army assessment has flagged concerns about faulty ammunition and
armament supplied by the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) causing army casualties
and bleeding the exchequer; 403 accidents over the last six years have resulted
in the deaths of 27 soldiers and a loss of ₹960 crore it said.



The four-page note, reviewed by Hindustan Times on Tuesday, said that the army
could have bought 100 medium artillery guns with ₹960 crore that was lost due to
poor quality ammunition. It significantly said some friendly foreign countries
had even refused to accept OFB products on the grounds of quality and that its
corporatisation was the only way forward.

An army spokesperson refused to comment, while OFB spokesperson Gagan Chaturvedi
said the army’s assessment is not factually correct and that the board will
issue a statement on Wednesday.

The government has set a one-year timeline for the corporatisation of OFB.

The note said 159 soldiers were injured in accidents attributed to OFB-supplied
ammunition and armament between 2014 and 2020.


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“Lack of accountability and poor quality of production result in frequent
accidents. This results in injuries and death of soldiers. On an average, one
accident takes places per week,” the note said.

The highest fatal casualties in a single year were recorded in 2016 when 19
soldiers were killed, while the maximum non-fatal casualties were reported in
2018 when 43 were injured. The ammunition and armament in question was supplied
to four wings of the army --- air defence, artillery, armoured corps and
infantry.

“The sub-optimal efficiency of this potential strategic asset (OFB) is one of
the major contributing factors to the hollowness threatening the ammunition and
armament holdings of the Indian Army,” according to the army’s assessment. The
note added that it was a matter of concern that certain countries have refused
to even accept ordnance factory-manufactured ammunition and equipment offered
against Lines of Credit due to concerns regarding quality of output, procedures
in the factories and inefficient post-sale service.



The government announced on September 11, the setting up of an empowered group
of ministers (EGoM) under defence minister Rajnath Singh to oversee the
corporatisation of OFB, which controls 41 ordnance factories engaged in the
production of tanks, armoured personnel carriers, bombs, rockets, artillery
guns, anti-aircraft guns, parachutes, small arms, clothing and leather equipment
for soldiers.

The factories controlled by the board employ at least 80,000 people who are
against the corporatisation.

“The corporatisation of a system with modern technologies and advanced automated
manufacturing will enable higher precision and minimal failures in production of
sensitive munitions .The concept of centralised and state-controlled production
is obsolete and needs to be addressed,” said former army vice chief Lieutenant
General AS Lamba (retd).



The corporatisation move will benefit OFB, the note said.

“The corporatisation of OFB will put it on par with other defence public sector
undertakings (DPSUs) managed by its own board of directors with broad guidelines
from the government. The government has envisioned growth of OFB post
corporatisation expecting it to raise its turnover to ₹30,000 crore by 2024-25
annually against the existing ₹12,000 crore, and has set up a high-level panel
to work out a roadmap to achieve the same.”.

According to the army’s internal assessment, OFB has a monopoly over several
products required by the armed forces, minimal focus on innovation and
technology development , no incentive to improve quality and cost efficiency,
and no accountability for its products.



The note said OFB has performed below its potential over the last few decades
and drained the defence budget by overpricing products.

“ ₹658.58 crore worth of (ammunition) was disposed of within shelf life between
April 2014 and April 2019 and ₹303.23 crore worth of mines were disposed of
within shelf life post Pulgaon accident in May 2016. ₹960 cr loss roughly means
100 155 mm medium artillery guns could have been bought for this amount,” the
note said.

...

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rahul Singh

Rahul Singh covers military affairs. He has been a journalist for 18 years.



Topics
Army Ordnance Factory Board Indian Army + 1 more

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