The Army is finally hopeful of acquiring 1,86,000 bullet proof jackets by the end of next month as the trials have ended and the proposed deal is now at the cost negotiations stage. The contract is worth over Rs 900 crore and three Indian companies are in the race. The project was given the nod way back in 2009 was marred by various reasons.
Giving details of the proposed deal, officials said here on Thursday the trials ended earlier this week and the Cost Negotiations Committee of the defence Ministry is now in the process of selecting the lowest bidder. All the three shortlisted companies met the qualitative requirements of the Army during the trials, they added.
The jackets are of modular design and can stop a 7.62mm bullet including hard core and mild core steel fired from a distance of more than ten metres. The shortlisted jackets are also capable of absorbing 25mm trauma.
Explaining the significance of this factor, they said when a bullet is stopped by the jacket it get entangled and creates a “bulge” and sometimes casualties take place due to this trauma. The new jacket can bear a bulge of 25mm diameter, they said.
Once procured, the Army plans to first equip the troops engaged in anti-militancy operations in Jammu and Kashmir and the North-East as most encounters take place from close quarters. The jackets now used by the troops are heavier and less effective in absorbing the impact of bullet, they said adding this had drawn flak from the decision makers and public alike.
Appreciating this concern, the defence Ministry last year allowed emergency purchase of more than 50,000 bullet proof jackets and they are now getting inducted into various units of army on the front line, they said. This procurement was made through the revenue budget of the army while the forthcoming deal will take place through the capital budget process, officials said.
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence recently pulled up the Government for slow acquisition process of jackets even though the nod was given by the Defence Acquisition Council(DAC) in 2009. In a report tabled in Parliament last week, the panel rapped the government that this delay should not be at the cost of lives of soldiers. It also noted that the Army is authorized to have an overall number of 3,53, 765 jackets.