On this day production began at Gun and Shell Factory, Cossipore, Kolkata. It was then known as Gun Carriage Agency. This is the oldest ordnance factory in India that is still operational. March 18 is celebrated as Ordnance Factory Day. The first Indian ordnance factory was established in 1712 by the Dutch in Ichhapur. In 1787, another gunpowder factory was founded in Ichhapur, where production began in 1791. For the Cossipore (Kashipur) factory, about 200 bighas of land had been purchased in 1801 on the bank of the Hooghly. The factory was originally set up for the manufacture and repair of gun carriages; hence the name. In 1832, it changed over from bullock-driven machines to steam-driven machines.
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