The proposal for procurement of fighter jets was made in 2007 under the Congress-led UPA government. The French aircraft manufacturer, Dassault Aviation, won the contract among other bidders in 2012. The original plan was to purchase 126 planes, including 18 to be manufactured in France and delivered in flyaway condition and the rest (108) to be built in India in collaboration with the Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd under transfer of technology.
There were lengthy negotiations between the then UPA government and Dassault on issues of pricing and transfer of technology. The negotitations continued till early 2014, but the deal was not finalised. Meanwhile, India and France faced national elections. A change in government in India delayed the process further.
During his visit to France in 2015, Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a surprise announcement that India would purchase 36 Rafale jets (as against the earlier tender for 126) from the French aircraft manufacturer Dassault Aviation. And the deal was sealed in September 2016.
The cost of each Rafale aircraft was later revealed to be Rs. 670 crore. But the Central government did not provide the break-up of the deal, citing security concerns.
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