Govt to procure six fast patrol boats for armed forces, issues RFP
New Delhi (PTI): The government plans to procure six fast patrol boats for the armed forces, essentially required to acquire capability of small team insertion for "surveillance and reconnaissance", according to the Request for Proposal (RFP) issued for it.
The opening date for the 'Request for Technical and Commercial Proposal for Procurement of six fast patrol boats (FPBs) under Buy (Indian-IDDM) category', is October 21, and the closing date is January 13, 2026.
'Buy (Indian-IDDM)' category refers to the procurement of products from an Indian vendor that have been indigenously designed, developed and manufactured with a minimum of 50 per cent indigenous content on cost basis of the total contract value.
According to the salient aspects and timelines of the acquisition mentioned in the RFP, the minimum indigenous content should be 60 per cent.
The Ministry of Defence "intends to procure quantity six Fast Patrol Boats and seeks participation in the procurement process from prospective bidders subject to requirements", the RFP says.
The FPBs are "essentially required to acquire capability of small team insertion for surveillance and reconnaissance, patrolling and domination of water bodies, deployment for intervention operation of high speed crafts, in support of direct action and operations in shallow and muddy waters", it further says.
According to the document, the boat shall also be employed to carry out patrolling and surveillance of conflict zone.
The end user of the equipment is the Indian armed forces, the RFP says.
"The government of India invites responses to this request only from Original
Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) or Authorised Vendors subject to the condition that in case where the same equipment is offered by more than one of the aforementioned parties, preference would be given to the OEM," it adds.
The last date for submission of pre-bid queries is November 11 while the last date and time for bid submission is "January 13, 2026, 1300 hrs".
The RFP is being issued with "no financial commitment", and the Ministry of Defence "reserves the right to withdraw the RFP and change or vary any part thereof or foreclose the procurement case at any stage", it says.
The government of India also reserves the right to disqualify any bidder should it be so necessary at any stage "on grounds of national security", according to the RFP.
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18-year-old graphic designer arrested for theft; says he lost job due to AI
Indore (PTI): An 18-year-old graphic designer, who claimed to have lost his job due to AI, was arrested with his NEET-aspirant woman friend on Thursday for allegedly stealing jewelry worth Rs 16 lakh.
The teen duo told police that they were inspired by the 2005 film Bunti Aur Babli, said Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Shrikrishna Lalchandani.
They allegedly stole gold, silver, and diamond jewelry worth Rs 16.17 lakh from a shop in Rau police station area in the city on the night of December 22, the official told reporters.
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The entire booty was recovered from their possession after the arrest in Bhopal where they had fled.
Without disclosing the identities of the accused, DCP Lalchandani said, "Both are 18 years old. The young man is a graphic designer, while the woman is preparing for National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET). The two have known each other since childhood.
"During interrogation, the young man told us that he used to work part-time as a graphic designer at an IT company, but lost his job due to the company's adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) technology and he was finding it difficult to make ends meet," the official added.
The accused, who come from economically weak background, claimed to have planned the theft after watching "Bunty Aur Babli," he said.
"The accused say they tried to sell the stolen jewelry, but the buyers, thinking they were children, wouldn't pay the right price. So they had decided to sell it after Christmas holidays," the DCP said.
