NEW DELHI: Clothes make the man. Soon, they’ll make the policeman, too. Cops and paramilitary forces across the country will be seen in designer nip and tuck, wearing all-weather and user-friendly uniform in modern fabrics, appealing colour schemes and textures to exude authority and instil a public-friendly image as well as boost their pride. User-compatibility and operational comfort are among other parameters.
The home ministry had entrusted the Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D) to research the matter. BPR&D has roped in the National Institute of Design (NID), Ahmedabad. NID has been asked to do a comparative study of police uniforms of all major countries across hierarchical levels.
Expect new-look trousers, shirts, belts, boots and caps for policemen across the country. Director General of Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D) Dr M C Borwankar told The Sunday Standard, “The project is in the final stages and the new design will be finalised soon.” A senior BPR&D official said, “Indian policemen wear pre-Independence era uniform. We want to make the force look less threatening.”
The project, named ‘Smart Policemen: Developing Designing and Trial of High Performance Uniform Articles and Accessories’, will be implemented by March 31, 2017, or earlier.
The final design of the new uniform will be decided by Borwankar and the BSF chief, following which it will be vetted by the home ministry and subsequently adopted. Police being a state subject under the Constitution, states will be free to adopt or reject the newly designed uniform, but the home ministry will decide for the nine-lakh strong Central paramilitary forces.
Comfort and utility are the central themes of the uniform that would have multiple pockets on shirts and trousers and multi-utility belt with detachable pouches for wireless sets, weapons and cartridges. A BPR&D official pointed out that leather belts and woollen berets have lost relevance in modern times. The Centre plans to convene a meeting of police chiefs before implementing the project. Many police and paramilitary officials said, the outdated 1861 Police Act, too, must be revised. Some feel field trials of the new uniform should be conducted.