Defence Council green-lights purchase of 26 Rafale jets from France
Amid Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to France, India's Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) on Thursday gave its initial approval to the proposal to buy 26 Rafale-M fighter jets for the Indian Navy, Reuters reported. The deals are expected to be valued at around Rs. 90,000 crore. It includes 22 single-seater Rafale marine aircraft and four twin-seater trainer models, apart from three Scorpene-class submarines.
Why does this story matter?
The fighter jets are expected to replace the Mikoyan MiG-29, currently used by the Indian Navy, which has reportedly been facing a scarcity of aircraft and submarines for the last few years. Controversy has surrounded India's 2015-16 deal to purchase 36 Rafale jets as the French government is investigating Dassault Aviation, Rafale's maker, for allegedly bribing middlemen for the aircraft's sale in India.
Mumbai's Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders, France's Naval Group to build submarines
The proposal was cleared in a meeting with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan, the three service chiefs, and senior officials. The planes will be used on INS Vikrant and INS Vikramaditya. While this is India's second purchase of Rafale jets from Dassault Aviation, the Scorpene-class submarines will be built by Mumbai's Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders with France-based Naval Group.
India ordered six submarines from France in 2005
The deal is expected to strengthen India's naval capabilities. Naval Group and Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders currently manufacture the Kalvari-class submarines, based on the Scorpene-class submarines, for the Indian Navy. In 1997, the Defence Ministry approved a proposal to buy 24 diesel-electric submarines for the Navy under Project 75. In 2005, the ministry ordered six submarines from France at an estimated cost of $3 billion.
How the deal will proceed
Once the deal is announced in Paris, an agreement will follow on commercial terms, and price negotiations will take place before the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) finalizes it. After the CCS's approval, the contract will be signed, and the procurement will occur through the government-to-government route. Notably, India is still awaiting the initiation of Project 75(I) for acquiring submarines.
