NEW DELHI: Nudged by the Supreme Court, the government finally let it take a look at the heart of the Rafale deal controversy by offering documents on the pricing of the fighter jet in a sealed envelope on Monday. Making the documents public would violate secrecy clauses between India and France, it emphasised.
However, the decision-making process was made public. The government claimed that due process, including securing approval by the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), was followed for the procurement.
In the three-part, 16-page document, the government said it had formed a team of negotiators led by a Deputy Chief of Air Staff rank officer that carried out negotiations for over a year. This team submitted its report in July 2016 and the deal was subsequently cleared by the CCS and Defence Acquisition Council.
The earlier deal for 126 aircraft being negotiated by the UPA government had stalled over contractual obligations imposed on manufacturer Dassault to produce 108 of them in India’s Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL).
“HAL required 2.7 times higher Man-Hours compared to the French side for the manufacture of Rafale aircraft in India... Issues related to contractual obligation and responsibility for 108 aircraft manufactured in India could not be resolved,” the document said. With the matter left hanging for over three years, the cost of acquisition went up.
It also reiterated that the government had no say in the offset agreement between Dassault and Reliance, which had led to charges of crony capitalism against Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The SC will hear the matter on November 14.
India signed an agreement with France for the purchase of 36 Rafales in a fly-away condition as part of the upgrading process of the Indian Air Force. The estimated cost of the deal is Rs 58,000 crore.
The Opposition, led by the Congress, claims the price at which India is buying Rafale is Rs 1,670 crore each, three times the Rs 526 crore initial bid being negotiated the UPA government.