New Delhi: The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) had accorded Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) in October, 2009 for procurement of 3,53,765 Bullet Proof Jackets (BPJs), including quantity 1,86,138 to be procured in the 11th Army Plan. The Request for Proposal (RFP) was issued to 36 vendors on 3.3.2011, but had to be retracted on 8.12.2011 to address issues in respect of conduct of trials. The RFP was issued again on 7.12.2012 to 39 vendors. However, as none of the BPJs produced by the vendors for trials were found to be compliant to the RFP parameters, the RFP was retracted on 5.10.2015. A fresh RFP has been issued on 4.4.2016. On completion of the technical evaluation of the offers, trials will be scheduled by Army Headquarters. However, to meet the immediate requirement of BPJs, an order for supply of 50,000 BPJs, through revenue expenditure route, has been placed on 31.3.2016, against which the first consignment of 5000 BPJs has been delivered on 15.10.2016.
This information was given by Defence Minister Shri Manohar Parrikar in a written reply to Shri Dilipbhai Pandya in Rajya Sabha today.
