The Prime Minister’s Office has asked the NITI Aayog to set up an inter-ministerial committee to prepare a road map to encourage domestic manufacturing of lightweight body armour for the Army and paramilitary forces.
The committee, says a senior government official, will be headed by NITI Aayog member V.K. Saraswat and will have representatives from the Defence Research and Development Organisation, the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, the Ministries of Defence and Home. Earlier this year, the PMO asked NITI Aayog to prepare a draft note on the possibility of encouraging production of home-made lightweight body armour.
Though India is a major producer and exporter of body armour, its own security forces are often deprived of such equipment, particularly the lightweight ones.
Huge demand
As per an estimate, there is a requirement of over 50,000 bulletproof kits for the police force in the country.
Indian companies such as the Kanpur-based MKU and Tata Advanced Materials export body armour to armed forces around the world. Making lightweight armour in India will ensure low-cost supplies.