In what is seen as the end of a chapter in India's military history, which began over 200 years ago during the British rule, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday launched the seven new defence public-sector undertakings carved out of the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB). The defence ministry had in September dissolved the OFB with effect from October 1 and transferred the OFB's employees, management, and assets to these seven PSUs. In other words, the OFB has now been corporatised. But, does what comes in OFB’s place move India towards greater self-reliance in defence? Will this structural change alone be enough to put an end to the inefficiencies – mostly delays in delivery and poor quality of products – which plagued the erstwhile OFB? In an earlier column for Business Standard, defence expert Ajai Shukla offered an answer based on what several analysts had said: "Greater efficiency is unlikely to materialise as long as the new manufacturing entities that replace the OFB are structured with the same inefficiencies as their predecessors." THE OFB STRUCTURE