Under the proposed deal, India will purchase 18 off-the-shelf Rafale fighter jets from French defence giant Dassault Aviation, while the remaining 96 fighter jets will be made in India.
In a major development, French major Dassault Aviation and Tata Advanced Systems Limited on Thursday signed four production transfer agreements to manufacture the Rafale fighter aircraft fuselage in India, marking a significant step forward in strengthening the country’s aerospace manufacturing capabilities and supporting global supply chains.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma revealed that the initiative would provide specialised training to 300 engineering graduates in fields like Robotics, Aerospace, Defence, and Artificial Intelligence.
'Will the government say if that obligation was fulfilled?' he asked
As per the offset policy, a certain percentage of the deal value with foreign firms should flow into India as foreign direct investment.
France's reaffirmation came when Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had a telephonic conversation with French Armed Forces Minister Florence Parly.
The move came days after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman unveiled a series of reform measures to promote the domestic defence industry and cut India's reliance on imported weapons and military platforms.
During the brief meeting, French President Emmanuel Macron vowed 'unrelenting fight' against Islamist terror.
Though the planes would be officially inducted into the IAF on Oct 8, they would start arriving in India only in May 2020, reports have stated.
At this stage there is little need to go into the merits of the demand to probe afresh the “politically-loaded” Rafale purchase ~ the complexities would be dealt with subsequently.
