Congress has questioned coming together of Dassault with ADAG to service and offset Rafale’s cost with make in India.
We had reported on October 29 that ADAG’s gain was HAL’s Loss. The joint venture between ADAG – a private entity, and Dassault is expected to deliver the offset obligation arising out of the deal to buy 36 Rafales. Further if the orders were to continue from either Indian Air Force or Indian Navy, the JV is supposed to deliver. Under UPA, the offset was to be taken to add to bootom lines of state owned Hindustan Aeronautical Limited (HAL).
In a press conference yesterday Randeep Surjewala accused Modi goverment of working against national interest .
Mr Surjewala further raised the questions that we have been highlighting in our earlier editorials
- Why is Modi government buying 36 Rafel Aircrafts at a highly inflated price compared to the originally negotiated base price by UPA-Congress government?
- Is it correct that UPA government negotiated 126 Rafel Aircrafts at a base price of US$10.2 billion with transfer of technology? Is it also correct that Modi government is buying 36 Rafel Aircrafts without transfer of technology for US$ 8.7 billion? Does it not mean that 126 Rafel Aircrafts would have cost US$ 30.45 billion (without transfer of technology) at the price arrived at by Modi government?
- Is it not then correct that per aircraft pricing of Rafel as per UPA negotiation comes to US$ 80.95 million (Rs.526.1 crore) as against Modi government’s per aircraft negotiated price of US$ 241.66 million (Rs.1570.8 crore) as per current exchange rate? Who is responsible for loss to exchequer?
- How did Prime Minister take a unilateral decision on buying the 36 aircrafts of Dassault by-passing the mandatory ‘Defence Procurement Procedure’ and in absence of an inter-governmental agreement with France at that time?
- Why has Modi government forgone transfer of technology for the defence acquisition ever in favour of a public sector undertaking i.e. HAL, more so when the former Defence Minister had publicly stated about possibility of buying more Rafel Aircrafts in future?
- Why did Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi promote the interests of one industrial group i.e. Reliance Defence Limited, which has led to the company tying up and entering into a joint venture with Dassault Aviation worth Rs.30,000 crore? Why was this done by Prime Minister bypassing the interests of a reputed public sector undertaking like HAL?
- Why has the joint venture for the biggest-ever Indian defence deal between Dassault Aviation and Reliance Defence Limited not gone through the proper procedure of approval by the Union Cabinet, Cabinet Committee on Security and Foreign Investment Promotion Board?
Most of our investigations agree with the lack of transparency that has been plagued in the agreement. Between ADAG and HAL , while the Reliance conglomerate has zero experience in building Aircrafts, HAL has been in the business for six decades having manufactured their first fighter HF 24 Marut way back in 1961. The fighter aircrafts with Indian armed forces are complex piece of machinery. In case of Rafale it was planned that the planes will carry Israeli aviation suits, weaponry of Indian, Israel and Russian origin, to be integrated with Indo/Israeli radars, Russian Air defense and American built AWACS.
We would also like to highlight that the Air Force is suffering because of lack of acquisition of these aircrafts.
“The first squadron of 18 new jets will be inducted within five years (by 2012)” Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal F.H. Major had said on Jul 1, 2007.
While the closed door negotiations remain in secret the fact is that on Apr 12, 2015 Times of India was lauding PM for securing 36 Rafale and that “The government has already announced the two new squadrons would be inducted into the IAF in two years”.
Fast forward to March 2017, the defence minister told Lok Sabha Members that “ As per the Inter-Governmental Agreement signed on 23rd September, 2016 with the Government of France for procurement of 36 Rafale Aircraft, the scheduled delivery of these aircraft is from September, 2019 to April, 2022”.
Only transparency of the highest order can help fill the void between the knowledge in Public domain and the National Security requirements
