For the first time in the country’s history, a Major General of the Indian Army has been chosen by the Centre as the CEO of the Indo-Russia Rifles Private Limited factory in Amethi district’s Korwa town, reports The Print. The factory in question is tasked with producing the modern AK-203 assault rifles as part of a joint venture between India and Russia.

Major General Sanjeev Sengar will serve in this role for the next four years, and his team managing the factory will also have other serving officers of the Indian Army in it.

It is believed that the idea for a senior officer to head a weapons manufacturing unit came from none other than the current Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Bipin Rawat.

The Army pushed for the experiment citing quality and delivery issues with weapons manufactured by ordnance factories. It may be possible for this new way of managing defence manufacturing units to be expanded further in the future if the maiden experiment proves to be a success.