COMMON KNOWLEDGE
As explained in a later post, the Indian Ministry of Defence had announced that Dassault Rafale had won the MMRCA competition to supply the Indian Air Force with 126 aircraft, along
with an option for 63 additional aircraft. The first 18 aircraft were to
be supplied by Dassault Aviation fully built and the remaining 108 aircraft were to be manufactured under license by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited
(HAL) with transfer of technology from Dassault.
in April 2015, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that India would acquire 36 fully built Rafales citing "critical operational necessity". Defence Minister Parrikar informed the Rajya Sabha that the tender for 126 aircraft had been withdrawn and negotiations for 36 aircraft had begun, and concluded at a total cost of Euros 7.87 billion, with a 50% offset. In effect, Euros 3.94 billion would have to be invested in Indian companies to manufacture components in India, with associated transfer of technology. This was the cheapest buy when compared to the price paid by both Egypt and Qatar.
The leader of the Congress Party in India, Mr Rahul Gandhi called the deal a SCAM and that the unilateral decision to purchase only 36 Rafales at Euros 7.87 billion was made to ensure that Indian billionaire Anil Ambani would get the offset contract and laugh his way to the bank with the Euros 3.94 billion, which should have rightfully gone to HAL. He was immediately countered by saying that he had not read the contract which specified that approximately €1.2 billion or ₹9,000 crore) would be reserved for the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). He did not accept this statement, calling it a part of the scam.
The published list of offset partners has vindicated the Indian Govt stand that Ambani was one of the approx 90 Indian agencies involved in the offset. That list is given below:
in April 2015, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that India would acquire 36 fully built Rafales citing "critical operational necessity". Defence Minister Parrikar informed the Rajya Sabha that the tender for 126 aircraft had been withdrawn and negotiations for 36 aircraft had begun, and concluded at a total cost of Euros 7.87 billion, with a 50% offset. In effect, Euros 3.94 billion would have to be invested in Indian companies to manufacture components in India, with associated transfer of technology. This was the cheapest buy when compared to the price paid by both Egypt and Qatar.
The leader of the Congress Party in India, Mr Rahul Gandhi called the deal a SCAM and that the unilateral decision to purchase only 36 Rafales at Euros 7.87 billion was made to ensure that Indian billionaire Anil Ambani would get the offset contract and laugh his way to the bank with the Euros 3.94 billion, which should have rightfully gone to HAL. He was immediately countered by saying that he had not read the contract which specified that approximately €1.2 billion or ₹9,000 crore) would be reserved for the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). He did not accept this statement, calling it a part of the scam.
The published list of offset partners has vindicated the Indian Govt stand that Ambani was one of the approx 90 Indian agencies involved in the offset. That list is given below:
The biggest offset partner in Rafale deal
is DRDO with Rs 9,000 crore. Not Ambani, as claimed. The balance of Rs 21,000 crore is split between the three main
manufacturers of the Rafale, Thales Rs 6,300 crore, Dassault Rs 8,400 crore & Safran Rs 6,300
crore. Offsets from Thales have been given to 12 Indian companies, from Dassault
to 55 Indian companies and from Safran to 22 Indian companies. Ambani's
Reliance is one of these 89 companies, clocking only about 3% of the total i.e.
around Rs 900 crore. Among the known ones, L&T, Mahindra, HCL, TCS, Cap
Gemini India, Titan, Wipro & Godrej feature prominently. HAL also features via a JV (Joint Venture) with Safran.
List of RAFALE offset partners-Rahul Gandhi is wrong.
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