Close on the heels of the announcement by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Paris last month on direct purchase of 36 Rafale aircraft under a government-to-government deal, India and France will begin negotiations this month to conclude a deal “as early as possible,” Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said on Monday.
French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian is due to visit India on May 6 to work out the modalities and initiate the process.
“The government-to-government committee will be set up, which will begin negotiations on the deal. The negotiations will start anytime in May and we have to conclude them as early as possible,” said Mr. Parrikar. The committee will kick-start the process and fix the modalities, he added. Mr. Parrikar added that the Ministers will not be directly involved in the process. Earlier, Defence Ministry officials said there was a likelihood of Dassault, which manufactures the Rafale, entering into a joint venture either with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) or a private sector firm to fulfil offset obligations arising out of the deal and to cater additional orders in future.
The direct deal was prompted after a prolonged delay in negotiations under the Medium Multi Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) contest for 126 jets.
Under the deal, 36 Rafale jets would be procured in fly-away condition in about two years.
