French team likely to visit in May

A high-level team from France is likely to arrive in New Delhi in May to firm up the order for the purchase of 36 Rafale fighter aircraft by India as both countries have managed to narrow down their differences over pricing. But it remains to be seen whether the reported lowering of price by France will result in India missing out on some of the hi-tech weaponry it wanted on the fighter aircraft.

According to news agency reports, the French delegation is expected to visit India in May. Speculation is rife that the final deal could be clinched by the end of May. During French President Francois Hollande’s visit to India in January, India and France had inked an MoU for the purchase of the 36 French Rafale aircraft but persisting differences over the pricing of the fighter jet had come in the way of the multi-billion dollar deal being wrapped up.

The negotiations over the purchase of 36 Rafale fighter aircraft by India from France is said to have recently entered the “final stages” as both India and France had managed to narrow down their differences over the pricing. Speculation was rife that India and France are narrowing down on Euros 7.8 billion as the final price. Government sources had said that the deal has not been concluded yet but it is in “final stages”. India has been negotiating hard to bring down the price of the Rafale deal. The Rafales are manufactured by French firm Dassault that had earlier emerged as the lowest bidder and had almost bagged a global tender floated by the ministry of defence (MoD) in 2007 for acquisition of 126 medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA). But after protracted negotiations between the MoD and Dassault made no headway, India scrapped the tender and decided instead to buy 36 Rafales off-the-shelf directly from France in a government-to-government deal.

But the two sides had once again hit the price roadblck. The weaponry that India had sought included Israeli helmet mounted display and some specific weaponry, among others. “The effort is to bring down the price to less than 8 billion euros (Rs 59,000 crore),” sources were quoted by news agency reports earlier, adding that the French have more or less agreed to Indian terms.