Having won a $166 million bid for the Indian Army’s 186,138 bulletproof jackets, SMPP’s executive director Ashish Kansal told the Economic Times that the Western-sourced fabric used during trials later changed to a Chinese supplier. This admission is creating consternation in the defence community.
‘Yes, we’ve changed the suppliers and have informed the army about it. There’s no change of quality and the jackets are of the same standard that was tested,’ Kansal confirmed to the daily.
However, a retired senior army official told Shephard: ‘Once samples are qualified, ethically and legally, the vendor should not be allowed to change