Government of India has already bought 50,000 bullet proof jackets for the Army personnel and the order for a lot of 25,000 has already been placed, reveals the RTI reply by Ministry of Defence, Government of India.
India is celebrating its 69th Army Day today. Every single individual of this country, who feels proud to be an Indian, is equally thankful to the Army for securing their lives by braving bullets on the border. We survive peacefully here because, on the borders, they are there. It is always a sad to hear that a soldier lost his life braving bullets fighting enemy. If bullets are the cause of death in most cases, why can’t we provide bullet proof jackets to our army men?
An RTI application filed in this regard by a Shimla resident revealed that the Ministry of Defence is already in process of securing 50,000 bullet proof jackets for its personnel. The important revelations from the response to the RTI Application are follows:
- What is the number of jawans in Indian Armed Forces (including paramilitary forces)?
Reply: It is intimated that information sought by you is exempted from disclosure under Section 8 (1) (a) of RTI Act 2005. - How many of these jawans have been provided with Bullet proof jackets?
- How many of them are not provided with bullet proof jackets and what is the reason for non-provision?
Reply for 2 & 3: It has been intimated by the concerned agency that bullet proof jackets are authorized to Indian Army troops as per an authorization scale for troops in Counter Insurgency (CI) and Counter Terrorism (CT) areas. This necessarily does not mean that all soldiers throughout the country are issued BPJs. - What is the total amount of money required to provide adequate quantity of high quality bullet proof jackets to all jawans of our armed forces?
Reply: It has been intimated by the concerned agency that presenty procurement of 50,000 Bullet Proof Jackets is in process @ Rs 25,000/- approx per Bullet Proof Jacket. - Till when does the government promise to provide the jawans with jackets?
Reply: It has been intimated by the concerned agency that the Bullet Proof Jackets are procured s per requirement. Quantity 50,000 Nos of Bullet Proof Jackets are presently in Delivery Stage. Case for an additional 25,000 Bullet Proof Jackets has already been initiated. This is a recurring process. - How much budget has been allocated for this purpose and how much has already been utilized?
Reply: It has been intimated by the concerned agency that adequate budgetary support is available for the same in the overall budget. Moreover the budgetary allocation is not as per individual item but against code head.
This RTI response seems to have answered most of the questions we bear in mind regarding provision of Bullet Proof Jackets to our Army personnel. At the same time, the power of Right to Information (RTI) as a strong democratic tool is also realised. We call upon all responsible citizens of our country to use this tool (RTI) as wisely as possible to unearth the loopholes that lie in our system and let the world know about it. As when a problem is identified, the solution follows. Filing an RTI application is not at all difficult now.
You need to simply visit: https://rtionline.gov.in/, create an account and file an application.
Let’s Strengthen this Nation by Contributing our Part. Happy Army Day. Jai Hind. 🙂
Thanks to Being Himachali for their Motivation 😉
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