The Army often requires gloves, jackets, socks, shoes, tent material, tarpaulins, and many more textile items for the soldiers who are in high altitude and super high altitude areas, sources these items from the domestic and overseas manufacturers. But it is now looking at more of local manufacturers and is creating awareness on the defence sector’s requirements for protective clothing.

P.N. Anantha narayanan, deputy director general, Equipment Management (General Stores & Clothing), master general of ordnance branch – Indian Army, while addressing a meeting on technical textiles said that there is a need for high altitude clothing, super high altitude clothing, protective textiles, geo fabric for border roads.

He said that they are carrying out product development in a number of clothing items. Prototypes are created and samples are usually tried out during winter. The defence procurement manual is under review. They are trying to encourage industries to come forward. The units can come in as a consortium too.

An awareness need to be created and improve among the industry and the domestic vendor base should widen as their volume of requirement is going up every year.