New Delhi: Days after the bloody face-off between India and China in the Galwan Valley, on June 18, the Indian Ministry of Defence has contacted manufacturers of protective gear and bullet-proof jackets worn by Army personnel for an urgent reinforcement of supplies. According to an Indian Express report, these jackets were to be used in forward regions, including Leh, and an estimated two lakh units were to be supplied.
This Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), the Express report states, use Chinese raw materials. One such contract was signed as recently as in 2017 and is in the process of delivering 1.86 lakh bullet-proof jackets to the Army, the report says.
With the strain in the relation between India and China, there have been concerns over letting these contracts go on. NITI Aayog member and former chief of the Defence Research and Development Organisation V.K. Saraswat has requested the defence ministry to re-look at these imports, the Express says.
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Defence minister Rajnath Singh had in the past told the parliament that there was “no embargo” on the import of raw materials from China for the manufacture of protective jackets for the Army. But the situation has undergone a drastic change owing to the violent face-off in the Galwan Valley.
Saraswat, in an interview with the Express, has said, “A year ago, we discouraged import of Chinese raw materials for critical items such as bullet-resistant jackets for their doubtful quality. We had even called the company which had the existing Army contract and told them to ensure testing of all imported raw materials at their end. Now I feel there should be a clear re-look at all such imports which are made from China just because of the price differential. We should not encourage import of Chinese raw material for strategic sectors like telecom and protective gear including bullet-resistant jackets worn by our troops.”
Similar demands are also made by the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry. They were earlier a part of a committee formed by the Department of Defence Production on “indigenisation of critical raw materials for manufacturing defence products”. In a letter sent to the defence secretary, the chamber has sought “renouncing the usages of Chinese products.”
