DRDO under scanner for supply of faulty bullet-proof vests

[sudhir007]

The Pioneer > Online Edition : >> DRDO under scanner for supply of faulty bullet proof vests

The Centre and its agencies seems not to have learnt any lesson from the death of Mumbai Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) chief Hemant Karkare in the 26/11 attack. The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has come under the scanner for the supply of substandard bulletproof vests to the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).

According to a CNN-IBN report, CRPF Director General AS Gill said he was aware of the allegations that substandard bulletproof jackets had been cleared to be used by his force. He said, “The entire matter is under investigation,” when asked whether rules were bent by DRDO while testing bulletproof jackets for use by CRPF personnel.

Gill said CRPF’s Technical Evaluation Committee had been asked to look into the allegations. Action would be taken against the guilty people after the report is out, he added. Union Home Minister P Chidambaram has also ordered an investigation into the alleged clearance of faulty bulletproof jackets.

However, Bureau of Police Research and Development Director General Prasoon Mukharjee, who heads the Technical Evaluation Committee, ducked questions.

“The CRPF jackets matter is under investigation. I am not the competent authority to comment,” he said.

The faulty and substandard bulletproof jackets would have reportedly put thousands of CRPF personnel in danger. The substandard jackets were cleared to be used by the force involved in counter-insurgency and anti-Naxal operations in many parts of the country.

The violations are highlighted from the fact that two different samples of jackets were tested for live firing at the same time — 1305 hrs IST to 1320 hrs IST and 1312 hrs IST to 1318 hrs IST — but the DRDO lab is a single bench test firing range, two samples just cannot be tested at the same time. Therefore, a question arises as to how the second test started before the first one finished.

Further, as per the rule or standard operating procedure, ‘wet jackets’ have to be fired at within 10 minutes of soaking but the document clearly reveals how a sample was fired at after 17 minutes and rejected. Ironically, other bidders did adhere to this guideline and pass the trial.

It was also found that lab test reports did not have the signatures of five out of seven members on the technical evaluation committee. Ironically, the Union Home Ministry in an internal note conceded that it had received several complaints about these trials.

At least three complaints are currently being examined. An alleged audio recording which indicts a technical evaluation committee member is also being examined.

Top level sources said that a worried Home Ministry has now halted the price bid for this tender. The Director General of CRPF will be consulted and the ballistic trials will be held again if the Ministry is convinced that they were manipulated.

 

[graphican]

DRDO is more favorable to Anti Indian elements than Pro Indians. India has 3 imminent threats to its security, China, Pakistan and DRDO!

 

[New Shivaji]

DRDO is more favorable to Anti Indian elements than Pro Indians. India has 3 imminent threats to its security, China, Pakistan and DRDO!

R u trying to be funny mite ??

 

[graphican]

R u trying to be funny mite ??

No I am serious, its you who take serious advice as joke.

 

[RPK]

^^^ Surely you don't know how many divisions in DRDO

Go here & checked it out

DRDO::

 

[Patriot]

DRDO is Pakistan's first line of defence...

Just Kidding guys.Don't get heart burn.

 

[Imran Khan]

any images of these jackets brothers? . think light and strong jackets most important for indian forces specialy in counter insergency.

 

[gogbot]

DRDO is more favorable to Anti Indian elements than Pro Indians. India has 3 imminent threats to its security, China, Pakistan and DRDO!

No I am serious, its you who take serious advice as joke.

DRDO is Pakistan's first line of defence...

Just Kidding guys.Don't get heart burn.

You know as funny as it is.

You do realize that the Nuclear weapons pointed at Pakistan are due to DRDO

And the missiles that carry them are also DRDO products.

And please i plead with you dont any one reply with the statement on why India has no nuclear deterrent.

 

[Imran Khan]

this one is that?

 

[blackbriar]

i agree with patriot.DRDO is a bigger headache than pakistan

 

[graphican]

i agree with patriot.DRDO is a bigger headache than pakistan

Leaving the pun and enmity aside, there are few accepted standard of equipments available in the market. They start with Economical Grade, then comes Commercial Grade / Industrial Grade, then Export Grade, then comes Superior Grade and even after that, there lies Military Grade at the top of the top line equipment grade which is sure to be second to none. When I see issues about DRDO so often, I feel what DRDO is producing is way below what a country would need for its defense.

Although these issues that we see often are reported by Indian Media and there is an element of exaggeration to them but the occurance of such reports on such a rapid scale should be worrysome for the Indian Military Officials. India is already getting 70% of its needed equipment from the external resources and the 30% that it is producing on its own are not of dependable quality. If you really love your country, don't defend the failures of this organization and rather work, force politicians and other decisions makers to bring improvements. Honestly, India has lost highest number of war planes in peace time but there is no civil action to bring the responsible people to justice. Its not the fault of DRDO that it fails, its the fault of Indian Citizens who fail to create pressure on the authorities and authorities keep making one fault after the other.

 

[Trisonics]

Leaving the pun and enmity aside, there are few accepted standard of equipments available in the market. They start with Economical Grade, then comes Commercial Grade / Industrial Grade, then Export Grade, then comes Superior Grade and even after that, there lies Military Grade at the top of the top line equipment grade which is sure to be second to none. When I see issues about DRDO so often, I feel what DRDO is producing is way below what a country would need for its defense.

Although these issues that we see often are reported by Indian Media and there is an element of exaggeration to them but the occurance of such reports on such a rapid scale should be worrysome for the Indian Military Officials. India is already getting 70% of its needed equipment from the external resources and the 30% that it is producing on its own are not of dependable quality. If you really love your country, don't defend the failures of this organization and rather work, force politicians and other decisions makers to bring improvements. Honestly, India has lost highest number of war planes in peace time but there is no civil action to bring the responsible people to justice. Its not the fault of DRDO that it fails, its the fault of Indian Citizens who fail to create pressure on the authorities and authorities keep making one fault after the other.

You know I can turn that around back to you: Intelligence failures, bomb blasts, Proof against India etc etc.. Tell me what pressures citizens of Pakistan have created? Let us also learn something

Nobody is defending anything, Pakistanis talk in great length about arjun, lca and everything else but the truth is, all of these are projects that are, still alive!!! ongoing!!!! and getting better!!!!
Development has a life cycle, its basic rule? "Nothing is Created Perfectly"!

While such articles make your day, you fail to notice something called "accountability" and that is why you got to read this news. Now this does not mean, ok India tried, it failed, so its not gonna do anything about it?

Now just because media in some other country doesn't expose corruption and flaws doesnt mean their products are superior or fail safe

 

[graphican]

You know I can turn that around back to you: Intelligence failures, bomb blasts, Proof against India etc etc.. Tell me what pressures citizens of Pakistan have created? Let us also learn something

Nobody is defending anything, Pakistanis talk in great length about arjun, lca and everything else but the truth is, all of these are projects that are, still alive!!! ongoing!!!! and getting better!!!!
Development has a life cycle, its basic rule? "Nothing is Created Perfectly"!

While such articles make your day, you fail to notice something called "accountability" and that is why you got to read this news. Now this does not mean, ok India tried, it failed, so its not gonna do anything about it?

Now just because media in some other country doesn't expose corruption and flaws doesnt mean their products are superior or fail safe

You need to take glasses of I being a Pakistani and you being an Indian and DRDO being an Indian Defense production organization before responding. Let any third party analyze the performance of DRDO and you might know something that you are refusing to understand at present.

Regarding turning the wheel back at me, Pakistan Army has given more lives than the combined contribution of whole world in the war against terrorism. Our Secret Services has been at the bulls eye of these terrorist attacks and 80% of the attacks that took place on Government Officials were on ISI and IB offices. Every single person in Pakistan is paying the price, even considered as the most innapt department in the country, the poliece has paid its price and stand with the other civilians the much they could and offered their lives. There ain't a single deparment in Pakistan that we could blaime for the misfortune other than politicians and the policy makers. Its the wrong political decisions that is reason and not faulty execution of right policies.

Coming back to your scenario, If you are happy keeping DRDO the way it is, believe me Pakistanis and Chinese are more happy than you think you are. "Keeping the pun and enmity aside" is the first line of my post and if you still think my post depicts insincerity, you need to see if you have written the post being a Patriotic Indian or as a hater of the Pakistan.

Peace.

 

[Hulk]

You need to take glasses of I being a Pakistani and you being an Indian and DRDO being an Indian Defense production organization before responding. Let any third party analyze the performance of DRDO and you might know something that you are refusing to understand at present.

Regarding turning the wheel back at me, Pakistan Army has given more lives than the combined contribution of whole world in the war against terrorism. Our Secret Services has been at the bulls eye of these terrorist attacks and 80% of the attacks that took place on Government Officials were on ISI and IB offices. Every single person in Pakistan is paying the price, even considered as the most innapt department in the country, the poliece has paid its price and stand with the other civilians the much they could and offered their lives. There ain't a single deparment in Pakistan that we could blaime for the misfortune other than politicians and the policy makers. Its the wrong political decisions that is reason and not faulty execution of right policies.

Coming back to your scenario, If you are happy keeping DRDO the way it is, believe me Pakistanis and Chinese are more happy than you think you are. "Keeping the pun and enmity aside" is the first line of my post and if you still think my post depicts insincerity, you need to see if you have written the post being a Patriotic Indian or as a hater of the Pakistan.

Peace.

Dude not that we are saying DRDO is great organization, we are also planning to restructure the DRDO. About failures of DRDO, one thing a Pakistani also ignore is that armed forces have been not given the same importance in India as in Pakistan. Now how does it impacts DRDO, simple example is when your boss has focus on you, he will monitor in detail and pay timely attention to your need to make sure you succeed. That was not the case with DRDO or Indian armed forces. Now in recent years focus on Armed forces is increasing so you will see the results.

So given what DRDO got in terms of attention coordination etc, it has not done a bad job. While you might believe everything that DRDO has made is dud, Indians or IA does not share your opinion.

Pakistan does not have an organization that compares to DRDO in terms of the number of items it produces.

 

[tamir]

How quickly threads get derailed. The term "bullet-proof" is incorrect. Nothing is "bullet-proof". There will always be bullet/round that will defeat body armor.
Does anyone have information on the DRDO testing standards and procedures?