EMERGENCY PROCUREMENTS FILLING UP THE GAPS

Threatened by a hostile China on its borders, India has taken a wholesome approach towards military modernisation through urgent procurement of cutting-edge weapon systems and advanced platforms,

-  AMARTYA SINHA

Renowned Indian philosopher Kautilya had once very pragmatically stated, "The power of a king lies in his mighty arms. Security of citizens at peacetime is very important because state is the only saviour of men and women who get affected only because of negligence of the state". At a time when expansionist aspirations of some rogue nations are on the rise in India's immediate neighbourhood, Kautilya's quote is very much valid and applicable in totality, even in the third decade of the 21st century. While Prime Minister Narendra Modi's strategic vision is to see India emerging as a $5 trillion economy and as a first-rung world power during the course of the ongoing decade, defence modernisation still remains is a conundrum due to lack of a robust defence industrial base in the country.

Many high value indigenous strategic projects ongoing since the turn of the millennium, still remain pending due to the union government's reluctance to expand domestic production capacity of defence hardware. Moreover, the lack of technological knowhow in some areas has also severely hindered the indigenous manufacturing of critical and high-tech weapons and platforms for the Indian armed forces. So, the government has decided to import some of this critical hardware from foreign majors for filling up the gaps in the nation's military capabilities. The emergency procurements of such defence products have thus proved to be a boon for Indian troops. Following is a sneak peek into the ongoing emergency procurement deals of the Indian military.

Bulletproof vests

The Indian Army projected an immediate requirement of 50,000 new bulletproof jackets (BPJS) for its frontline troops, the procurement process for which began in July 2021. The Ministry of Defence issued the request for proposal to vendors in 2021 and the procurement has been done in phases over a 24-month period after all the modalities were finalised and user trials concluded.