| India is a large country - often referred to as a | | | | guards the Prime Minister and other important |
| sub continent. It is the dominant power in SE Asia | | | | personages of the Indian state. |
| and has a standing armed force of over 1.2 million. | | | | The Indian ordinance factories also manufacture a |
| But the early years after independence saw the | | | | six chamber revolver. They manufacture the.38 |
| political leadership led by Nehru give very little | | | | as well as the.32 range of weapons. The .38 is |
| importance to the armed forces which continued | | | | exclusively for the armed forces and is |
| with obsolete weapons like the first war vintage | | | | characterized as a prohibited bore weapon. The |
| .303 rifle (bolt action) and an assorted range of | | | | .32 revolver however can be sold to a civilian and |
| revolvers imported from the UK and some other | | | | is also priced similar to pistol at about $1500. The |
| countries. As a corollary the small arms industry | | | | .32 caliber revolver which is also referred to as |
| also suffered and no weapons were | | | | IOF Mk1 is clearly copied from the famous |
| manufactured in India. | | | | Webley Scott revolver of the UK. The Indian |
| The 1962 debacle of the Indian army at the hand | | | | made revolver weighs .70kg. |
| of the Chinese changed all that and the Indian | | | | The quality of the pistols and revolvers definitely |
| leadership steeped in non violence and utopian | | | | needs improvement. A general look will show that |
| Gandhian thought had perforce to change course. | | | | the Indian made small arms are inferior as far as |
| The result was that the weaponry of the Indian | | | | their get up and looks is concerned,compared to |
| armed forces was upgrade. The government also | | | | weapons made in the advanced western world. |
| set up a spate of ordinance factories under the | | | | The finish is poor and the government owned |
| department of defense production, which in turn | | | | ordinance factories do not have a quality control |
| was a part of the defense ministry. Presently | | | | check in place. The pistol particularly the ones |
| there are about 40 Ordnance Factories which | | | | marketed for civil use are prone to jamming while |
| come under the control of Ordnance Factory | | | | in use. These defects have resulted in the Indian |
| board which is located at Delhi. These factories | | | | made weapons being confined only to India. |
| now manufacture revolvers and pistols for the | | | | Foreign nations have not evinced any interest in |
| armed forces. The weapons are also available in | | | | the Indian made pistols or revolvers. The |
| the civil market and any Indian with a valid arms | | | | functioning of the Indian made revolvers is a |
| license can buy these guns from the outlets of | | | | shade better, but they also can do with a better |
| the Indian ordinance depots. | | | | finish. One of the marketing pivots is referred to |
| The ordinance factories manufacture pistols and | | | | as the esteem value. It is the look of the end |
| revolvers. The weapons manufactured are the FN | | | | product. The ordinance factories will do well to |
| Browning GP35 a 9mm pistol. There is another | | | | address this lacuna in the small arms |
| type of pistol manufactured which is copy of the | | | | manufactured by them. |
| Pistol manufactured in Canada by John Inglis. | | | | The ordinance factories are also churning out |
| These are high power pistols and are freely | | | | other arms including rifles for the Indian Army. |
| available.There is no restrictions on their purchase, | | | | Quite a few rifles have been sold to the Nepal |
| but the weapon has to be booked with the | | | | army.However the Indian made hand held |
| ordinance depot and the cost of the weapon paid | | | | revolvers and pistols have a long way to go to |
| up front. The weapon which is priced at about | | | | match the exacting standards of other countries. |
| $1500 is made available to the buyer in about 2/3 | | | | The ordinance factories come in the Public sector |
| months after the weapon is booked. Another | | | | and are government owned. Perhaps a way out |
| variant of the pistol manufactured is the Glock17 | | | | to address the better quality of the weapons is |
| another 9mm pistol. This pistol forms part of the | | | | to privatize these factories and allow the private |
| armory of the special protection group that | | | | manufacturers to enter this arena. |