rafale deal can benefit from a little more info from the govt.
1. apparently referring to the question why hal was dropped in favour of reliance group company , minister replies that no indian offset partner has been selected by the vendor ( dassault aviation ) so far.
but foundation stone for dassault reliance aerospace limited manufacturing facility in midhun nagpur was laid on 27 oct 2017 . that press release mentions that the facility will manufacture several components of the offset obligation connected to the purchase of 36 rafale fighters from france, signed between the two govts in sept 2016.
2. this deal is better reiterates the defence minister. but no details. or answers . here are the questions again .
i. how is the present price of 1600 cr per plane better than the 500 cr in the original plan or the escalated cost of 700 cr per plane ? ii. is exclusion of transfer of technology clause one of the betterment that the minister is referring to ?
3. minister says security agreement signed in 2008 forbids revealing details of the rafale deal (to be) signed in 2016.
will the govt specify the agreement ?
4. upa also refused to disclose details of defence deals, claims the minister.
upgrade costs of mirage 2000 aircraft were disclosed , explained and justified in reply to a parliament question in 2013, to cite one example .
5. revealing item wise costs will compromise our national security .
if this argument is taken forward, no govt will need to disclose defence purchase details ever. or the details of any deals . if this covenant is interpreted with a little imagination.
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