History
- Beginning
The history and development of Indian ordnance factories is directly linked with the British reign in India. The East India Company considered military hardware to be a vital element for securing their economic interest in India and increasing their political power. In 1775 British authorities accepted the establishment of the Board of Ordnance at Fort William, Calcutta. This marks the official beginning of the Army Ordnance in India.
In 1787 a gunpowder factory was established at Ichapore; it began production in 1791, and the site was later used as a rifle factory beginning in 1904. In 1801, Gun Carriage Agency (now known as Gun & Shell Factory, Cossipore) was established at Cossipore, Calcutta, and production began on March 18, 1802. This is the oldest ordnance factory in India still in existence.
- Growth
The growth of the Ordnance Factories Board leading to its present setup has been continuous but sporadic. There were eighteen ordnance factories before India became independent in 1947 and twenty-three factories have been established after independence, mostly in the wake of defence preparedness imperatives brought about by the three major wars fought by the Indian Armed forces.
- Main Events
- 1801 - Establishment of Gun Carriage Agency at Cossipore, Kolkata.
- 1802 - Production begins at Cossipore on 18 March.
- 1906 - The Administration of Indian Ordnance Factories comes under a separate charge as "IG of Ordnance Factories".
- 1933 - Charged to "Director of Ordnance Factories".
- 1948 - Placed under direct control of Ministry of Defence.
- 1962 - Department of Defence Production was set up at Ministry of Defence.
- 1979 - Ordnance Factories Board is established on 2 April.
Read more about this topic: Ordnance Factories Board
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“I believe that in the history of art and of thought there has always been at every living moment of culture a “will to renewal.” This is not the prerogative of the last decade only. All history is nothing but a succession of “crises”Mof rupture, repudiation and resistance.... When there is no “crisis,” there is stagnation, petrification and death. All thought, all art is aggressive.”
—Eugène Ionesco (b. 1912)
“It’s a very delicate surgical operation—to cut out the heart without killing the patient. The history of our country, however, is a very tough old patient, and we’ll do the best we can.”
—Dudley Nichols, U.S. screenwriter. Jean Renoir. Sorel (Philip Merivale)
“It would be naive to think that peace and justice can be achieved easily. No set of rules or study of history will automatically resolve the problems.... However, with faith and perseverance,... complex problems in the past have been resolved in our search for justice and peace. They can be resolved in the future, provided, of course, that we can think of five new ways to measure the height of a tall building by using a barometer.”
—Jimmy Carter (James Earl Carter, Jr.)