Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee jointly performed the Bhumi Pujan for five expansion projects at the Ordnance Factory Dum Dum in Kolkata. The projects aim to enhance domestic defence manufacturing capacity under the Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative. The ceremony marked rare Centre-state cooperation on a defence infrastructure project, with the ordnance factory falling under the Ministry of Defence's Ordnance Factory Board successor entities established after the 2021 corporatisation.

Ordnance Factory Dum Dum is one of India's oldest defence manufacturing establishments, historically under the Ordnance Factories Board (OFB). In October 2021, the Government of India dissolved the OFB and corporatised its 41 ordnance factories into seven new Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs). This restructuring was aimed at improving efficiency, accountability, and competitiveness in line with India's Atmanirbhar Bharat defence policy.

The seven new DPSUs formed from OFB corporatisation are: Munitions India Limited, Armoured Vehicles Nigam Limited (AVNL), Advanced Weapons and Equipment India Limited, Troop Comforts Limited, Yantra India Limited, India Optel Limited, and Gliders India Limited.

Dum Dum Ordnance Factory, located in Kolkata, specialises in small arms ammunition and has historical significance — the 'Dum Dum bullet' (expanding bullet) takes its name from this location. It now falls under Munitions India Limited.

The Bhumi Pujan for five new projects signals continued capital investment in legacy defence infrastructure under the Make in India and Atmanirbhar Bharat defence frameworks. The joint participation of the Raksha Mantri and the West Bengal CM underscores that defence manufacturing facilities, though under Central government jurisdiction, require state-level cooperation for land, logistics, and labour — a federalism dimension the UPSC examiner may probe.