(a) whether any Committee has been set up under Niti Aayog to domestically manufacture lightweight body armours for Army and Para Military forces;
(b) if so, the details thereof;
(c) whether the Committee has submitted its report; and
(d) if so, the outcome thereof and if not, the time by which the report is likely to be submitted?
MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) FOR MINISTRY OF PLANNING AND MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF CHEMICALS AND FERTILIZERS
(RAO INDERJIT SINGH)
(a)& (b) :A Committee was set up under the chairmanship of Dr. V.K. Saraswat, Member, NITI Aayog. The Committee in multiple meetings discussed the status of capabilities, capacities, strengths and weaknesses of the Indian body armours manufacturing industry. Issues related to large import of raw materials, availability of testing and R&D facilities were also discussed with a view to work out a holistic roadmap for “Make in India” in Body Armour.
(c) & (d):The Committee submitted its report titled “Roadmap for Make in India in Body Armour” to the Prime Minister’s Office on August 9, 2017 wherein a number of recommendations were made. Major recommendations made covered issues such as promotion of indigenous manufacturing of body armours including raw materials, creating more testing facilities, adopting Indian Standards in Body Armours, setting up of Centres of Excellence to pursue R&D in nano-technology materials for lightweight body armours and simplification of procurement process.
The PMO accepted the recommendations contained in the report of the Committee.
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