 We intend to corporatize Ordnance Factory boards. On the 16th of May 2020, the Honorable Finance Minister Nirmala Sitaraman came in front of the TV channels and in the name of COVID-19 relief, she announced bypassing all the previous agreements with us that the 41 Ordnance Factories will be corporatized as if it is a part of the COVID-19 relief package. The people of this country should understand, is it a COVID-19 relief package killing a 220 years old difference industry, but they have declined? In the month of June 2021, the Narendra Modi-led BJP government has approved a plan to corporatize the 246-year-old Ordnance Factory Board, an umbrella body that oversees the 41 Ordnance Factories across the country. As per the Cabinet decision, the Board will now be converted into seven new defence public sector undertakings. Engaged in defence equipment manufacturing, OFB currently operates as a government department under the control of the Ministry of Defence. Its corporatization was listed as one of the 167 transformative ideas to be implemented in the first 100 days of the Narendra Modi-led government's second term back in 2019. A decision was finally taken by the Cabinet Committee on Security in July 2020 on it in the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic. Newsclick reached out to see Sri Kumar, the General Secretary of All India Defence Employees Federation, to listen to the employee's perspective. The present government of India, led by our honourable Prime Minister Narendra Modi, after his government came into power, the entire policy has been changed. They have decided that why defence production should be in the hands of the government. Let the defence production also be privatized. Any private sector can contribute for defence production. Without any application of mind, what will be its impact on the national security of our country? Or when a crisis like the Kargil crisis has come, whether the private industry has come to the rescue of our country? All these experiences we have got, even in the latest Kargil crisis when the entire country went on a lockdown and the situation has come to the frontline warriors, our doctors, our nurses, our paramedical staff, our healthcare workers, they were not having personal protective equipments. And none of the private industry came forward to manufacture in that lockdown period. But it was the same ordnance factories. The ordnance factories came to the rescue of the nation. The workers of these ordnance factories taking risk of their own life, risking their family members' life, risking the infection of COVID-19 virus, they came forward. We are here for the rescue of the nation. We are here to serve the nation without any expectation, without any expectation. And all other government employees, they are asked to work from home during this crisis. The ordnance factory employees are working from the factories. So far our country is concerned, which is the 41 Indian ordnance factories, which is playing a vital role in fully equipping our soldiers and fully achieving self-reliance in different preparedness of the country and achieving indigenization in different production. The so-called Indian ordnance factories, it is the oldest industrial setup in our country. It is older than railways, it is older than post and telegraphs, it is older than any other industry in our country. It is 220 years old. The first Indian ordnance factory was established in Calcutta by Britishers in the year 1801. Britishers required to capture the country, the different kings who were ruling the different provinces or the states to capture those countries to bring it under their control. They required arms, ammunition, weapons, clothing for their soldiers. So they have to import it from, bring it from England. And it has to come through ships, which takes months together. And sometime in the midst of the sea, accident takes place and the ship got shingled. Accidents and time consuming. Therefore, the British government took a decision that instead of importing the arms, ammunition and all equipment required for the armed forces, why can't we establish defense production factories in India itself? And that is how in 1801, the first ordnance factory has came into existence. Thereafter, to meet the requirement of the First World War, followed by the Second World War, one by one, one by one, they have established new factories. And in 1947, when they left our country, 17 ordnance factories were left in India and about 6 or 7 ordnance factories were left with the partition after the partition. So 1947, a new government has come into power under the leadership of great leader Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. Nothing was there in this country. Everything was looted by the Britishers and taken away. In such a crisis, a new government of India has been formed. So definitely, the government has started concentrating in developing the industry of this country. Heavy industries are required. The country was left in such a situation for each and everything, you have to depend on the western countries. And especially in the field of defense, no western country, whether it is the Britishers or the Germany or the France or Italy or America, none of them are prepared to give any assistance for our country. Neither they are prepared to share the technology with us or go for a collaborative production with us. In that situation, it was the S2I Soviet Union which came to the support of our country. They came forward to give free technology to us. They helped us in establishing so many ordnance factories in our country. And that is how the Indian ordnance factories have developed. As far as these ordnance factories remains with the government, the government cannot sell it out. So what is the root of selling? First to corporatizing. First a piece is to convert it into a public sector. And our honorable Prime Minister has already told, public sector ka jenam hota hai bando ne ke liye nahi toh marne ke liye. He has very categorically told. The birth of public sector takes place only to be closed down or to be died. So the policy is very clear. That means once it becomes a public sector, it will become a sick industry. And it can be easily sold. And that is why we know the game plan. We know the game plan and moreover the finance minister has clearly told. In the strategic sectors, there will be only four public sectors. All others will be sold out. In the defense ministry, there are already eight public sectors. Already existing. Hindustan aeronautics limited. Bar of the electronics limited. Bar of the earth movers limited. Bar of the dynamics limited. All these are defense PSUs. And these defense PSUs are already aged. Now the government has decided ordinance factories will be seven corporations. Forty-one factories is broken into seven pieces. Splintered, sliced into seven pieces. Seven corporations. To eight plus seven fifteen. Only four will remain according to government. Which four will remain? That means the game plan is these seven corporations. Within two years, it will become non-viable. No order will be placed on these factories by the armed forces. Because they have been given free hand either to import or to purchase from private sector. Net result will be what? This is not a consumer industry. This is a defense industry. Depending on only one customer that is the government of India and the armed forces. If they don't place any orders on these factories, what will happen? It will have its natural death. What will happen to the 76,000 employees? So therefore there are two perspectives in this. Not only union and employees perspective. As I have initially told about the national security itself. Now these factories are meant for watch. These factories are established for watch. For manufacturing, state of the art, technology, defense equipment. To keep our servants comfortable. To fight the war. To defend our country. That will be geopolitical. That is the first casualty. Our job, our employment is second concern for us. As a patriotic citizen, our concern is these 220 years organization which has been nurtured by the workers and the national leaders, patriotic leaders. That will be liquidated. That will be finished. So that is the major casualty, major concern as a citizen of the country.