In September 2016, India inked a deal with France’s Dassault Aviation for procurement of 36 Rafale fighter jets as an estimated cost of Rs 59,000 crore or 7.8 billion. The original plan of the previous UPA govt was to buy 126 jets of which 18 would be in flyaway condition and the rest would be assembled in India by the state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL). However, the deal fell through. In order to upgrade the ageing fleet of the IAF, the Modi government entered into the new deal for jets with India-specific enhancements. Besides, an offset clause was added under which France would invest 30% of the 7.8 billion in India’s military aerospace research programmes and 20% into local production of Rafale components. Ever since, questions were raised about the cost agreed upon for the aircraft, violation of procurement procedures, and the choice of Anil Ambani’s Reliance Defence Ltd as an offset partner over the experienced HAL. However, in December 2019, the Supreme Court dismissed all petitions alleging irregularities in the deal. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh received the first of the 36 jets at a ceremony in Paris on October 8, 2019.
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