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1.86L bullet-proof jackets to be procured by April 2020: Govt

New Delhi: The shortage of bullet-proof jackets for armed forces is being met through procurement of 1.86 lakh such jackets by April 2020 for nearly Rs 639 crore, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh informed Rajya Sabha on Monday.

Replying to supplementaries, the minister said there was no embargo on the import of raw material from China for making such bullet-proof jackets, and any supplier violating the tender norms would face action and could be disqualified.

The minister also assured the House that the government has no plans to reduce the justified benefits provided to armed personnel with disabilities.

“In 2009, there was a shortage of 3,53,755 bulletproof jackets in the country, but the procurement was not done for a long time. An RFP for procurement of 1,86,138 bulletproof jackets has been issued in April 2016 and the tender in this regard was allotted on April 9, 2018 to an Indian buyer.

“The total value of the contract is for Rs 638.97 crore, for procurement of 1,86,138 bulletproof jackets, which will be supplied within 36 months and it has to be completed by April 8, 2020,” the minister told the house.

“So far, the DGQA quality checks have been completed and 10,000 bulletproof jackets have already been procured and a total of 37,000 such jackets have to be procured by this year, by 8.10.2019,” he said.

Singh said Taiwan and China are included in the list of countries for import of synthetic fibre.

“The source of raw material has not been listed in the tender for procurement of bullet-proof jackets. There is no embargo on the import of raw material for bullet proof jackets from China in the tender. There is a clause for 30 per cent indigenous content from within India that has to be ensured,” he said.

“There is no decline in the quality of bullet-proof jackets (BPJs) procured for the Indian Army,” the minister said in his written reply.