Let's talk about our favourite PSU...Advanced Weapons and Equipment India Limited or AWEIL.
AWEIL employs a workforce of almost 14,000 people.
To put that into perspective, SIG Sauer employs 3,200 people, FN Herstal employs 3,000, and Heckler & Koch just 1,200. In short, if you were to double the combined workforce of three of the most significant firearms manufacturers in the world, you would arrive at AWEIL's workforce size.
Established in 1904
Rifle Factory Ishapore was established in 1904, making it one of the oldest organizations in India. However, what is even more interesting is what it has (or hasn’t) done in these 120 years. Even after over a century, it has not designed a single machine gun of any type, auto-cannon, automatic grenade launcher, any kind of rocket launcher/recoilless rifle, or any firearm utilizing a short-stroke gas piston, nor has it developed any pistol—let alone a modern polymer-framed one.
The thing with Ammunition
Ammunition used to be the bread and butter for OFBs (Ordnance Factory Boards), as there was absolutely no competition in this sector. They consistently received orders 24/7 to supply everyone from the police to the navy. However, in recent years, new ammunition manufacturers, especially SSS Defence and Hughes Precision, have slowly been eating into their market share. When massively influential players like Adani enter the market, they will likely be able to operate with a no-loss, no-profit model for at least a few years, given their other profitable businesses.
The Attitude
For decades, they have successfully strong-armed the government into accepting their mediocrity. Multiple reform initiatives have been attempted, but they almost always end in strikes. This issue becomes further complicated when examining senior positions in the OFB, as almost none of them are held by younger individuals.
So ultimately the question is, when in the next few years their ammunition sales drop significantly and same happens with firearms as more and more private players pop up; what would they do? Especially with this huge workforce.
