Poor application of norms cause of accidents at explosives and ammunition making units: Secretary

Pune: Safety lapses in India's explosives and ammunition manufacturing sector stem more from inadequate enforcement of existing standards than from the absence of rules and accidents must be "eliminated" rather than merely reduced, a top government official said on Friday.

Sanjeev Kumar, Secretary, Department of Defence Production under Ministry of Defence, advocated greater use of technology to improve compliance with safety protocols and minimise dependence on manual supervision at explosives and ammunition making units.

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Addressing a seminar in Pune on 'Military Explosives & Propellants -- Safety and Compliance and Quality Assurance, Defence Production', he said the Ministry of Defence decided to hold this event after a series of accidents at defence public sector undertakings and private industries in recent years.

"We came to the conclusion (after these accidents) that probably it is not the lack of adequate standards, but the lack of conscious and sincere implementation of those standards. When people work for many years, they tend to become complacent and start taking processes casually," he noted.

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The IAS officer said a committee constituted to examine such tragedies found that safety standards and safeguards were already in place, but their implementation required greater vigilance.

He emphasised that accidents involving explosives and propellants have devastating human consequences and therefore must be prevented at any cost.

"I am using the word 'eliminated' very consciously. Reducing or mitigating will not work because the damage to human lives is irreparable," the senior bureaucrat stressed.

The Defence Production Secretary suggested greater use of technology, including sensors, CCTV cameras, automated monitoring systems and data analytics, to improve compliance with safety protocols and minimise dependence on manual supervision at explosives and ammunition units.

"Can we start thinking of automating these processes so that things get continuously supervised, controlled and corrected without significant human interference?" he asked.

Highlighting the growing global demand for explosives and propellants amid ongoing conflicts worldwide, Kumar said India has a rare opportunity to expand its manufacturing capacity and emerge as a major supplier.

"This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Wars and war-like situations across the world are consuming explosives and high-energy materials at a very high rate, while many countries have dismantled their manufacturing infrastructure over the last four to five decades," he said.

The IAS officer urged the industry to invest in the production of critical raw materials such as propellants instead of focusing only on value-added ammunition.

"We have a shortage of propellants. We are only trying to source propellants from existing manufacturers without adequately investing in creating propellant capacity in the country. If the base of the pyramid is narrow, the pyramid is not going to survive," Kumar argued.

He said the government was simplifying regulatory procedures to facilitate faster establishment of manufacturing facilities.

Referring to consultations held with the defence sector since May 2025, Kumar said several issues relating to differences in standards and delays in approvals had either been resolved or were close to resolution.

"In the Department of Defence Production, consultations earlier involved 19 stakeholders. Last month we reduced them to only three, which will bring down the approval time from three to six months to less than a month," he opined.

Kumar affirmed the defence ministry would continue to seek industry feedback to further improve ease of doing business in the sector.

He suggested expanding the seminar in future into a larger event covering safety, emerging technologies, regulations and business opportunities in the explosives and ammunition sector, with participation from international stakeholders.

As many as 62 industrial accidents were reported at ordnance factories across the country in 2024, 75 in 2023, 83 in 2022, 74 in 2021 and 54 in 2020, the government informed Parliament in March 2025.

Nagpur and the wider Vidarbha region in Maharashtra have witnessed multiple explosions and safety lapses in defence PSUs and private explosives/ammunition manufacturing industries in the last few years.