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{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2018}}
{{Use Indian English|date=May 2018}}
The '''Government Opium and Alkaloid Factories''' ('''GOAF''') is an [[Government of India|Indian government]]-owned organisation. Its headquarter is located in New Delhi. The overall supervision of the organisation comes under the purview of [[Department of Revenue (India)|Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance]].<ref>{{Cite news|last=Doctor|first=Vikram|title=Union Budget 2012: Opium trade tucked away among the budget papers|work=The Economic Times|url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/policy/union-budget-2012-opium-trade-tucked-away-among-the-budget-papers/articleshow/12309921.cms|access-date=2021-03-01}}</ref> There are two factories under this organisation - Government Opium and Alkaloid Works, [[Ghazipur]] (U.P.) and Government Opium and Alkaloid Works, [[Neemuch]] (M.P.).

==Products==
The enterprise's two factories specialize in the production of [[opium]] and the extraction of related alkaloids (such as [[Codeine]] phosphates, [[Morphine]] salts, [[Ethylmorphine|Dionine]], [[Morphine Hydrochloride]], [[Thebaine]],<ref>V.S. Ramanathan, P. Chandra. [http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/data-and-analysis/bulletin/bulletin_1980-01-01_2_page008.html ''Recovery of thebaine and cryptopine from Indian opium''] ([[United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime|UNODC]])</ref> and more). It is the country's largest producer of opium-related products.<ref name="oaw">{{cite web|url=http://finmin.nic.in/the_ministry/dept_revenue/revenue_headquarters/committee_of_management/manual/manual1.pdf|title=''Particulars of the organisation, its functions and duties''}} {{small|(14.1 KB)}} ([[Government of India]])</ref>

== Cultivation of poppy for factory ==
The input for factory is derived from [[Legal opium production in India|licensed poppy cultivators in India]] from states of [[Madhya Pradesh]], [[Uttar Pradesh]] and [[Rajasthan]]. The entire produce is brought by government and which in turn is supplied to GOAF. GOAF delivers the finished products such as alkaloids to [[Pharmaceutical industry in India|Pharmaceutical industry]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Datta|first=PT Jyothi|title=Centre pilots private poppy cultivation and extraction of opium with new technology|url=https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/centre-pilots-private-poppy-cultivation-and-extraction-of-opium-with-new-technology/article23752496.ece|access-date=2021-03-01|website=@businessline|language=en}}</ref>

In 2017, [[Central Government of India]] started steps to privatize cultivation and processing of poppy in the country. A trial contract was awarded for a pharma company, ''Rusan Pharma Ltd and Embio limited'' to cultivate poppy in 2 hectares of land and extract the essence using a technology called ''concentrated poppy straw'' (CPS).<ref>{{Cite web|date=2018-05-08|title=Central govt opens doors for private players in opium cultivation|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/mumbai/maharahtra-govt-opens-doors-for-private-players-in-opium-cultivation/|access-date=2021-03-01|website=The Indian Express|language=en}}</ref>

==Factories==

===Government Opium and Alkaloid Works, Ghazipur (U.P.)===
The [[Ghazipur]] factory began life as the Benaras Opium Agency,<ref name="CBN">[http://cbn.nic.in/html/ccf.htm ''Government Opium and alkaloid factories at a glance''] ([[Ministry of Finance (India)|Central Bureau of Narcotics]])</ref> an entity of the [[British East India Company|East India Company]], in 1820. The opium processed at Ghazipur was sent to Calcutta (now known as [[Kolkata]]) for auction, then shipped to the south China coast and smuggled into the country via the port of Canton (now known as [[Guangzhou]]). In 1945, the factory began extracting [[alkaloid]]s in addition to processing opium.<ref name="oaw"/> Currently, Dr. Shashank Yadav, I.R.S. is the General Manager of this factory and Mr. O.P. Rai, I.R.S. is the Manager of factory along with the other officials are currently posted in factory i.e Mr. Ajeet Kumar C.L.S., Asst.Commissioner(central-Labour Welfare) and the Ghazipur opium factory is mentioned in the novel "Sea of Poppies" by Amitav Ghosh. More recently both the [[Ghazipur]] and Nimach factories are referred to as sources of illegal smuggling for opium manufacture in the movie "[[Udta Punjab]]" (2016). This factory has connectivity with [[National Waterway 1]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=2016-08-30|title=National Waterway 1: Scope and limitations of the ambitious plan|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/jal-marg-vikas-project-national-waterway-1-scope-and-limitations-of-the-ambitious-plan-2987827/|access-date=2021-03-01|website=The Indian Express|language=en}}</ref> The factory was shut by UP Pollution Control Board in 2017 due to pollution issues and inferior affluent management practices.<ref>{{Cite web|date=May 4, 2017|first=Binay|last=Singh|title=ghazipur opium factory: Country's biggest, oldest opium factory shut|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/varanasi/countrys-biggest-oldest-opium-factory-shut-in-varanasi/articleshow/58508352.cms|access-date=2021-03-01|website=The Times of India|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=January 29, 2016|title=Asia's largest opium plant may shut down in 10 days|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/indore/asias-largest-opium-plant-may-shut-down-in-10-days/articleshow/50770567.cms|access-date=2021-03-01|website=The Times of India|language=en}}</ref>

===Government Opium and Alkaloid Works, Neemuch (M.P.)===
The Neemuch factory was founded in 1933. In 1976, it began extracting alkaloids in addition to processing opium. The Nimach factory, also known as Neemuch factory, is an acronym for Northern India Mounted Advanced Cavalry Headquarters. The opium factory is known to have the largest opium receptacle in the world, resembling a large backyard swimming pool. It holds 450 tons of opium. The contents of the vat are stolen in the anti-heroin novel "White Monsoon" by Scott Nelson. In the novel, White Monsoon was a codename for a 1992 Libyan plot to pose as members of the International Red Cross and travel from Libya to India’s Opium and Alkaloid Works in Neemuch to steal the contents of a backyard swimming pool sized vat containing 450 tons of opium worth 36US billion in 1992. The opium would be converted to 40 tons of morphine base then smuggled into a remote location in Afghanistan to be converted to 40 tons of pure heroin to be sold for bargain-basement-prices on Main Street, America.<ref name="oaw"/> Shri Naresh Bundel IRS is holding
charge of General Manager of Government Opium & Alkaloid Works, Nimach. Shri Raising Rahul (IRS) is the Manager of the Factory.

==Organization==
After 1976, organisation is headed by the Chief Controller of Factories, currently Shri Anil Ramteke, IRS.

==Workforce==
The enterprise employs 1,432 people.<ref name="oaw"/>

==Security==
Security is managed by members of the [[Central Industrial Security Force]], with 123 assigned to the Ghazipur factory and 104 to Neemuch.<ref name="oaw"/>

==See also==
{{div col|colwidth=22em}}
* [[Opium licensing]]
* [[Opium poppy]]
* [[First Opium War|First]] and [[Second Opium War]]s
* [[Company rule in India]]
* [[Pharmaceuticals in India]]
* [[Opiate]] and [[Opioid]]
* [[Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (India)|Indian Narcotic Substances Act]]
* [[Commission on Narcotic Drugs]]
* [[International Narcotics Control Board]]
{{div col end}}
* [[Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs]] and [[Protocol Amending the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs|Protocol Amending the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs (includes "Article 21" — ''Limitation of Production of Opium'')]]
*[[Legal opium production in India]]

==Reference==
{{reflist}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Ghazipur]]
[[Category:Government-owned companies of India]]
[[Category:State agencies of Madhya Pradesh]]
[[Category:Pharmaceutical companies of India]]
[[Category:Opium in India]]
[[Category:Companies nationalised by the Government of India]]

Opium and Alkaloid Works - Revision history

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