More than three years after Defence Minister A K Antony approved the purchase of 1.8 lakh bullet-proof jackets, the ministry is yet to acquire them, leaving the soldiers guarding the borders vulnerable to enemy bullets.



The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) headed by Antony cleared the purchase of 1,86,138 bullet-proof jackets for the Indian Army in October 2009. The manufacturers have finally submitted their techno-commercial bids only about 10 days ago.



What protracted the procurement process is the retraction of the first tender or request for proposal (RFP) issued in March, 2011. Six vendors responded by July but the RFP had to be retracted in December due to technical problems in ballistic trials.

The first batch of bullet-proof jackets was to be purchased in the 11th Plan. The government planned to buy a second batch of 1,67,627 bullet-proof jackets in the 12th plan as the Cabinet Committee of Security scaled up the total requirement of bullet-proof jackets to 3,53,765. But as the procurement of even the first batch is way behind the schedule, it is not clear how long the ministry will take to procure the entire lot.



In the new tender, there are three categories of bullet-proof jackets based on their sizes. While the small one will weigh not more than 10.1 kg, the maximum weight for medium and large sized jackets would be 10.4 and 11.3 kg respectively. The sizes of “soft body panel” and “hard armoured plate” vary for each category. All are capable of protecting the soldiers against carbines, rifles and handguns.



The Defence Ministry has informed a Parliamentary Standing Committee that bullet-proof jackets being procured for the Indian Army cost Rs 50,000 per piece and is at par with the jackets being used in the US and the UK. Though the Army wanted “modular bullet-proof jackets” – parts of which can be detached and attached depending on operational needs– it is not clear if the current lot will include the modular ones.



A separate proposal for purchasing ballistic helmets too does not seem to have made any headway, demonstrating India’s patchy defence procurement process at a time when China is flexing its muscles.

In another curious case, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence found that eight years after the Boxing Day tsunami washed away the Indian Air Force station in the Car Nicobar, the electric airfield lighting system at the strategic base still remains non-functional.



Out of the 52 IAF airfields, as many as 10 did not have the electrical airfield lightening system and the Car Nicobar was one of them, the panel said in its report tabled last week.

