The Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) government in Telangana on Saturday appealed to the Centre to revoke its proposal to privatise the Medak Ordnance Factory, which has been playing a critical role in the country’s defence.
In a letter written to Union defence minister Rajnath Singh, state finance and health minister T Harish Rao, who represents Siddipet assembly — which is part of Medak parliamentary constituency, said it was unfortunate that the Centre had decided to privatise all seven ordnance factories across the country.
“These facilities play a critical role in the national defence and privatisation could have significant negative consequences for both the country’s security and the livelihood of thousands of employees who work in these factories,” he said.
Quoting a representation given to him by the Ayudha Karmagara Telangana Employees Samakhya (Federation of Telangana employees of the ordnance factory), Rao said privatising seven public sector organizations in the defence sector could lead to competition that could hinder the development of new weapons and undermine the ‘Make in India’ initiative.
He also noted that the Medak Ordnance Factory had sufficient work for its staff during the previous financial year 2022-23 and it had achieved the target of production worth ₹930 crore by March 31, 2023. It was prepared to achieve any target, if sufficient workload was provided, he said.
“Unfortunately, there is no sufficient workload for the 2023-24 and there is a threat of declaring the only Ordnance Factory in Telangana as sick industry in the coming years,” he said.
The minister presented six demands to the defence minister including rolling back the decision to privatize defence sector enterprises, strengthening research departments, modernizing the mission, providing skill training to employees, simplifying administration and procurement procedures, and ordering work for the Ordnance Factory in line with Army requirements.
He said there were growing concerns about the impact of privatisation on India’s defence sector, with some experts warning that privatisation could lead to a loss of strategic autonomy and put the country’s security at risk.
“In view of the strategic importance of the ordnance factories and the potential negative impact of their privatization, we request the Centre to withdraw its decision to privatise these critical facilities,” Rao said in the letter to Singh.
