Indian Army has less life protecting equipments than Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh

United Nations recently said that there is an alarming lack of lifeprotecting equipment available with Indian peacekeepers, informing India that the ability of troops to undertake operations has been impacted in South Sudan.

As per the officials, India in October that its troops stationed there had "inadequate" life-protecting equipment such as bulletproof helmets and jackets. India has about 2,200 troops in South Sudan.

"The situation in South Sudan has been deteriorating. T he UN Secretary-General recently went on record that the country is headed for mass genocide. Still, two months later, the situation with our troops remains the same," an official, who did not wish to be identified, told ET.

Neighbouring countries like Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh also have a better record. "This is undoubtedly making a serious dent to our reputation as a major contributor to UN peacekeeping operations," said an official.

As a result, this has apparently affected the number of operations the deployed troops can undertake.

Even before this, the UN had over the last nine months informed India repeatedly that the serviceability of Indian peacekeepers in South Sudan is barely 60% due to the shortages. This against other peacekeepers deployed in the same area that are much better equipped.China, which has recently increased its contributions to the UN, has an availability rate of 120%, according to the information shared.

The matter is still unresolved even after two months despite several rounds of consultations between the Defence Ministry and Ministry of External Affairs, with officials saying the safety and reputation of Indian peacekeepers are at stake.

"We must recognise that Indian forces are performing well operationally .There have been no complaints on that front," a South Block official, told ET.

India has been requested to provide adequate equipment to the blue berets at the earliest, in what would be one of the first challenges that General Bipin Rawat, who takes over as Army Chief on December 31, will have to face. The officer has an appreciation of the challenges faced in UN peacekeeping missions, having commanded troops as a Brigadier in Congo in 2008. The UN Mission in South Sudan is one of its largest peacekeeping missions with India as the main contributor.

The Indian Army has also been facing shortages of life-saving bulletproof jackets and helmets at home as well, with orders placed for 50,000 jackets only in March this year -a seven year gap when the requirement was first raised in 2009. Even now the jackets ordered are against the full requirement of 1,86,138 that were needed by the Army till 2017.