4 puzzling questions about the Rafale deal
IMAGE: The 36 Rafale fighters will cost canada goose outlet edmonton 7.8 billion (Rs 58,000 crore/Rs 580 billion). Photograph: Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images
Canada Goose Coats On Sale Prime canada goose outlet eu Minister Narendra D Modi on April 10, 2015, in Paris stunned the global military aerospace industry with the announcement that India would buy 36 canada goose outlet seattle Rafale fighters in a government to canada goose outlet toronto government arrangement with France, effectively ending an eight year global procurement process for 126 fighters. Canada Goose Coats On Sale
There is controversy over canada goose outlet michigan how the deal was announced by the PM himself during a State visit to France without clearances from his Cabinet or defence ministry.
canada goose uk black friday That announcement resulted in a billion (Rs 58,000 crore/Rs 580 billion) contract for the 36 Rafale fighters, signed in June 2016. It has led to charges of corruption and nepotism, levied by the Congress against the Bharatiya Janata Party led government. canada goose uk black friday
The canada goose outlet germany Congress alleges Dassault, which builds the Rafale, is being paid far more than the price earlier negotiated.
And that largesse, in the form of defence offsets, is flowing to Reliance Defence, headed by Anil D Ambani, a Gujarati industrialist with no experience in aerospace manufacturing but perceived to be canada goose uk close to the PM.
Canada Goose Jackets The BJP’s riposte by Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman accuses the Congress of delaying the Rafale procurement for 10 years during 2004 2014, while heading the United Progressive Alliance government. Canada Goose Jackets
uk canada goose Sitharaman says Modi, worried about a precariously under equipped Indian Air Force, boldly went canada goose outlet mall ahead in the national interest, following all canada goose outlet store uk procedures, to buy the Rafale. uk canada goose
cheap canada goose uk Beyond political mud slinging, four major questions arise. cheap canada goose uk
First, did the PM follow due procedure in announcing, alongside then French president Fran Hollande, that France would supply 36 fully built Rafales? Or was this Modi decision alone?
Second, rather than serving the deal on a platter to a single vendor French firm Dassault could the PM have brought in another vendor, creating a competitive environment for price discovery and cost negotiation?
canada goose uk outlet Third, was the UPA guilty of a full decade of foot dragging between 2004 and 2014 on the eventually aborted procurement of 126 medium multi role combat aircraft, leading to such a canada goose outlet new york fighter shortage in the IAF that canada goose outlet miami an emergency purchase of 36 Rafales became essential? canada goose uk outlet
Fourth, does the https://www.gooseyou.com per fighter cost in the contract work out lower than what France had offered in its MMRCA bid, which was a key condition of the purchase?
Addressing the media, a feisty Sitharaman insisted the PM had canada goose outlet followed due process, with the purchase of the Rafales having been cleared by the Cabinet Committee on Security.
Canada Goose online ‘In September 2016 the Inter Governmental Agreement for buying 36 Rafales was signed in the presence of the defence ministers of France and canada goose factory outlet toronto location India,’ she stated, underlining that one of her predecessors, Manohar Parrikar, was on board. Canada Goose online
In fact, canada goose outlet buffalo Parrikar wasted no time in distancing himself from the decision after the Modi Hollande announcement.
‘Modiji took canada goose outlet online uk the decision; I back it up,’ he told Doordarshan on April 13, 2015. Elaborating to NDTV, Parrikar described the decision as ‘the outcome of discussions between the prime minister and the president of France’.
In fact, Parrikar had learned about Modi’s impending announcement precisely a week in advance. Parrikar was driving to the airport on April 3, 2015, to catch a flight to Goa when canada goose outlet real he received a call summoning canada goose outlet website legit him to the PM’s office.
cheap Canada Goose There, Modi sprung the bombshell about the proposed announcement and tasked Parrikar to manage the media during Modi’s nine day tour of France, canada goose factory outlet vancouver Germany, and Canada. cheap Canada Goose
Both Sitharaman and Parrikar point out the defence procurement procedure permits regular procurement procedures to be bypassed on strategic grounds.
buy canada goose jacket Indeed, Paragraph 71 of the DPP caters for ‘occasions when procurements would have to be done from friendly foreign countries which may be necessitated due to geo strategic advantages that are likely to accrue to our country.’ buy canada goose jacket
canada goose uk shop However, Paragraph 71 also stipulates that this requires prior clearance. canada goose uk shop
canada goose factory sale Further, Paragraph 73 of the DPP says: ‘Decisions on all such (strategic) acquisitions would be taken by the CCS on the recommendations of the Defence Procurement Board.’ canada goose factory sale
Canada Goose sale No ministry or Cabinet body was consulted before Modi committed India to the Rafale purchase on April 10, 2015. Canada Goose sale
Canada Goose Parka The CCS sanction was processed and obtained later. Canada Goose Parka
Putting Dassault in the driving seat
canada goose black friday sale IMAGE: The Modi government insists the Rafale purchase is a bold move. Photograph: Regis Duvignau/Reuters canada goose black friday sale
A key criticism of this procurement is that Modi’s Paris announcement effectively handed Dassault a single vendor contract, ignoring the readily available option to bring in one more vendor.
Says a then senior defence ministry official who recently retired and requested anonymity: “The PM chose Rafale based on the IAF’s technical evaluation and flight evaluation trials in the MMRCA process. Why did he ignore the second fighter, Eurofighter Typhoon, which had also passed canada goose clothing uk the IAF evaluation?”.
