New Delhi: Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh reviewed the working of the seven defence companies, carved out of erstwhile Ordnance Factory Board (OFB), at a meeting organised in New Delhi on September 30, 2022 to mark the completion of one year of their operations. The companies had commenced operations from October 01, 2021 before they were dedicated to the nation by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi on the occasion of ‘Vijayadashami’ on October 15, 2021.
During the meeting, the Raksha Mantri was briefed by the officials of Department of Defence Production on the progress made by these new DPSUs in the last one year. Addressing the officers and employees of the seven companies virtually, Shri Rajnath Singh stated that the corporatisation of OFB was a major reform in the direction of making the country ‘Aatmanirbhar’ by unleashing the true potential of these entities.
He appreciated the fact that these companies are moving smoothly on the path of progress with full autonomy, efficiency and accountability, while protecting the interests of its employees, which were the base on which the Government took the decision to corporatise OFB.
An amount of Rs 2,953 crore has been released to these companies in the form of equity, during the Financial Years 2021-22 and 2022-23 for modernisation and further amount of Rs 6,270 crore is planned to be released to these companies up to 2026-27 for capital expenditure. In addition, an amount of Rs 3,750 crore has been released to these companies in form of Emergency Authorisation Fund.
The functional and financial autonomy provided to these new corporate entities, coupled with handholding by the Government, has started reflecting in their performance. Within a short span of six months i.e., October 01, 2021 to March 31, 2022, these new companies have achieved the turnover of more than Rs 8,400 crore, which is significant considering the Value of Issue of erstwhile OFB during the previous financial years.
For the Financial year 2022-23 also, the seven new DPSUs have projected cumulative sales target of approx. Rs 17,000 crore, which is significantly higher as compared to previous achievements of erstwhile OFB.
Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan, Chief of the Army Staff General Manoj Pande, Vice Chief of the Naval Staff Vice Admiral SN Ghormade and senior officials of Ministry of Defence were present on the occasion.
News & Image Source : psuconnect.in
