VZCZCXYZ0005
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHNE #8184/01 3401123
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 061123Z DEC 06
FM AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI
TO RUCPDOC/USDOC WASHDC
RUEAHLC/HQ ICE IAO WASHINGTON DC
INFO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1170

UNCLAS NEW DELHI 008184 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
USDOC FOR 532/OEA/M. NICKSON-DORSEY/J. HATFIELD 
USDOC FOR 3131/USFCS/OIO/ANESA/KREISSL 
USDOC FOR 4530/MAC/ANESA/OSA 
ICE HQ FOR STRATEGIC INVESTIGATIONS 
STATE FOR EB/ESP 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ETTC ETRD BEXP IN
SUBJECT: EXTRANCHECK: PRE-LICENSE CHECK: ORDNANCE FACTORY KHAMARIA, 
JABALPUR, MADHYA PRADESH, LICENSE NO. D364294 
 
REF: USDOC 05578 
 
¶1. Unauthorized disclosure of the information provided below is 
prohibited by Section 12(c) of the Export Administration Act. 
 
¶2. Export Control Officer (ECO) Michael Rufe and BIS FSN Prem 
Narayan conducted a Pre-license Check (PLC) at Ordnance Factory 
Khamaria (OFK), Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, on November 15, 2006. 
 
¶3. BIS requested a PLC at OFK, a GOI-owned unit under the Ordnance 
Factories Board, Ministry of Defence (MOD), located at Jabalpur 
482005, Madhya Pradesh, Tel: 0761-2338894, Fax: 0761-2337301, email: 
ordkham@sancharnet.in, Website: www.ofbindia.gov.in.  OFK was listed 
as the Ultimate Consignee and Deepkamal Chemical Private Ltd. 
(Deepkamal), Chennai, India, as the Foreign Purchaser for 52 
kilograms of 95-97 percent Elemental Amorphous Boron powder 
controlled under ECCN 1C011.  The license applicant was SB Boron 
Corp. (SB Boron), Bellwood, IL. 
 
¶4. The ECO met for approximately 2 hours with R.A. Agrawal 
(Agrawal), General Manager, V. Srinivasan (Srinivasan), Additional 
General Manager, V.K. Tiwari (Tiwari), Joint General Manager, and 
M.K. Mohapatra (Mohapatra), Planning Officer. OFK. Under Secretary 
(AMS) Prashant Agrawal (Prashant), Ministry of External Affairs 
(MEA), GOI, facilitated the meeting.  Prashant was also present in 
the meeting. 
 
¶5. The OFK officials were not aware of the BIS regulations.  This 
was the first USG or BIS official visit to OFK in Jabalpur, Madhya 
Pradesh.  They stated that Deepkamal, the Foreign Purchaser, is the 
exclusive agent of SB Boron in India.  SB Boron's website: 
www.sbboron.com, confirms that Deepkamal is their sole agent 
managing India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.  OFK has been 
purchasing Boron powder from Deepkamal since 1994.  For all Boron 
powder transactions, OFK officials submitted end-use statements to 
Deepkamal.  However, Deepkamal has neither informed OFK about BIS 
export license requirements nor provided any license conditions to 
OFK. 
 
¶6. Reftel stated that OEA conducted a search of BIS records for OFK 
and this appears to be the first BIS application for this party. 
BIS New Delhi recommends OEE ascertain whether SB Boron has been 
supplying Boron powder to Deepkamal for OFK prior to this license 
application.  MEA later informed the ECO that previous shipments to 
Deepkamal for OFK were under State export licenses. Agrawal stated 
that for earlier transactions they were not sure whether Deepkamal 
sourced the Boron powder from SB Boron or elsewhere.  For the 
proposed transaction, OFK inserted a clause in the tender document 
that bidder must disclose the identity of the supplier of Boron 
powder along with import documents. 
 
¶7. OFK officials produced documentation pertaining to the proposed 
transaction for review including Deepkamal's quotation, OFK Purchase 
Order, OFK end-use statement, and details of previous Boron powder 
transactions purchased from Deepkamal including purchase order 
numbers, quantities, and dates.  The documentation for the proposed 
transaction appeared in order and copies were provided through MEA. 
 
 
¶8. Srinivasan gave a detailed slide presentation on various 
ammunitions OFK manufactures including the end-use of the Boron 
powder and transaction history of Boron powder that OFK has been 
sourcing from Deepkamal.  The stated end-use was confirmed. OFK 
requires the Boron powder for manufacture of composition for various 
medium caliber ammunition.  He stated that Boron powder is one of 
the ingredients used to fill the 84mm shells.  There are four 
varieties in 84mm shells that are high explosive (HE), Illuminating, 
TPT and HEAT (high explosive anti-tank).  These are all 
shoulder-fired rounds.  The Boron powder along with other materials 
is used in the top portion of the 84mm shell in order to increase 
velocity and firepower.  The Boron powder picks up the flash and 
rapidly activates the other explosive propellants.  The HE 84mm 
shells are used against troops in open and in slit trenches. 
Illuminating is designed to meet the requirement for a very quick 
illumination of the target area.  TPT is identical to HEAT but HEAT 
is costlier than TPT.  HEAT is used against all types of armored 
fighting vehicles.  The Boron powder is stored in a secure storage 
area, a designated officer is responsible for withdrawal and usage, 
and a disposition log is maintained. 
 
¶9. Established in 1942, OFK is one of the 39 
ammunition-manufacturing factories, functioning under the aegis of 
the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB), headquartered in Kolkata, 
Department of Defence Production, MOD.  In addition to 39 factories, 
OFB has 58 laboratories.  OFK is a state-of-the-art battlefield 
 
equipment manufacturer.  It is also engaged in explosive filling and 
assembling of medium and high caliber ammunition including small 
arms ammunition.  The product range includes ammunition components 
hardware fuze, shell, primer and cartridge case for medium and high 
caliber ammunitions.  The prime customers of OFK are the three armed 
forces of India, Para-military forces under the Ministry of Home 
Affairs and other defence departments.  OFK employs approximately 
2,364 personnel. 
 
¶10. Recommendation: Post recommends Ordnance Factory Khamaria as a 
reliable recipient of the controlled U.S. origin commodity.  All 
indications are that the listed commodity will be used in accordance 
with U.S. export control regulations (MKRUFE) Mulford