NEW DELHI (PTI): The DRDO has developed a lightweight bullet-proof jacket that weighs nine kg and meets the qualitative requirements of the Indian Army, the Defence Ministry said on Thursday.

Kanpur-based Defence Materials and Stores Research and Development Establishment (DMSRDE), which is one of the laboratories of the government-run Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), has developed this jacket, a Ministry statement said.

"The front hard armour panel bullet proof jacket was tested at Terminal Ballistics Research Lab in Chandigarh and it met relevant standards of the BIS (Bureau of Indian Standards)," the statement said.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh congratulated the DRDO and its lab DMSRDE for developing the new jacket.

"India needs more such innovative product design and development to realise the dream of #AtmaNirbharBharat," he said on Twitter.

The front hard armour panel technology used for this new jacket reduces the weight of medium sized bullet proof jacket from 10.4 kg to nine kg, the Ministry's statement said.