Shocking! Indian soldiers are forced to buy their own boots and uniforms

If you are a fan of Akshay Kumar and have watched his movie Namastey London, you probably remember from his popular monologue that Indians boast of having the third biggest army in the world.

However, you would feel ashamed to know that the soldiers of this huge army force, those who guard our lives day and night without a worry about their own, are being forced to buy their boots and uniforms from their own money, all because of the inferior quality of the ones that are issued to them from the authorities.

Official from the Defence ministry told ET that the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB), which is responsible for the production of boots and uniforms, has often received complaints about the low quality of their products.

The boots tend to tear and the heavy sole dropped off, said a soldier who had to buy a new pair from his own money and that too within three months of being issued the OFB footwear.

Talking of uniforms, the biggest complaint about them is the quality of the material used, which gets ripped and fades in no time, leading to colour mismatches. This means getting pulled up during inspections and parades, because of which they consider buying their own clothes.
The sizing is also an issue, which makes it almost impossible for the soldiers of the 1.2-million strong army to find the clothes that fit them right.
"The OFB issues uniforms and boots every 18 months, but they last only three-four months," one of the officials told ET. "There is no option but to buy these from the market."

When questioned, the army headquarters confirmed that there were flaws in the designs of the boots. "Boot High Ankle DVS was reported to have heavy sole and a better design and lighter weight with polyurethane rubber sole for better flexibility has been identified," an official confirmed. Approval for an open tender enquiry (OTE) has been obtained, he said.

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