The long-pending demand of the Indian Army for more than 1.86 lakh bullet-proof jackets should finally be met soon with the Defence Ministry on Monday signing a contract worth nearly Rs 640 crore for their procurement.In a statement, the ministry said the contract was finalised after "successful" field evaluation trials.

The contract has been bagged by indigenous defence manufacturer SMPP Pvt Ltd, under the Make in India policy for the jackets. The bullet-proof jackets currently in Army's possession are heavy and not good enough to provide protection to all organs.

The Army said that new jackets will have modular parts providing protection and flexibility to infantry soldiers in different operational situations ranging from long distance patrolling to high risk room intervention scenarios. The new jackets will provide 360 degree protection to the soldier in combat, including from latest hard steel core bullets.

"A major contract through capital procurement route, for procurement of 1,86,138 bullet-proof jackets (BPJs) has been signed. The impending requirement of the Indian Army for effective BPJs, has been met after successful conduct of stringent field evaluation trials," the Army said in a statement on Monday.

The new bullet-proof jackets are designed to provide protection to soldiers based on increasing threat from low, medium and high velocity projectiles, especially during counter terror operations that can go on for hours.

This kind of protective gear is the need of the hour, officials said.