New Delhi : After PM Narendra Modi announced that 36 Rafale jets in fly-away condition will be delivered to the Indian Air Force, French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian is likely to meet his Indian counterpart Manohar Parrikar to carry forward the $6 bn deal.
“He is coming down to firm up the modalities as India wants the fighter aircraft as soon as possible,” the sources said. French sources, however, said a date is yet to be fixed and it has been announced by French President Francois Hollande that Drian will accompany him to Qatar on May 4. “The French are trying to fix a date after that,” the sources said.
The deal with India is also likely to have a 30% offset clause valuing to nearly $2 bn that the Indian private industry will be eyeing.
The defence sources have pegged the deal at over $6 bn including the cost of the 36 aircraft, armament and spares. Modi and French President Hollande had on April 11 agreed to conclude an Inter-Governmental Agreement for supply of the aircraft on terms that would be better than conveyed by Dassault Aviation for the 126 Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) tender.
