Close X
Friday, November 29, 2024
ADVT 
India

India To Buy 36 Rafale Jets In Fly-away Condition: Modi

Darpan News Desk IANS, 10 Apr, 2015 11:56 AM
    Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said India will buy 36 Rafale jets from France in fly-away condition soon.
     
    The decision is among the several agreements reached between the two countries after his meeting with French President Francois Hollande here. 
     
    "I have spoken to President Hollande about buying 36 Rafale jets in fly-away condition," the prime minister said while addressing the media jointly with the French president. 
     
    Modi also said defence cooperation with France has been enhanced and the two countries would work together in manufacturing defence equipment and developing technology.
     
    "President Hollande has extended full cooperation for our 'Make In India' campaign in the defence sector which is not just a programme but an ambition we have. India and France will together make defence equipment and also develop technology," Modi said. 
     
    The Indian prime minister added that he had a detailed talk with French defence companies. 
     
    "Today we have taken strategic cooperation with France to a new level," Modi said in an address in Hindi. 
     
    The Indian Air Force (IAF) had shortlisted Rafale for induction into its frontline combat fleet, replacing the ageing Soviet-era MiG-21 squadron but the deal did not materialise for long.
     
    The original deal, with an estimated cost of $20 billion, was for delivery of 126 fighters, including 18 off-the-shelf by Dassault, and 108 to be manufactured in India under licensed production by the state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) over time, with 50 percent offset obligations to benefit the domestic aerospace industry.
     
    The IAF opted for the twin-engined Rafale in January 2012 over Eurofighter Typhoon of the European consortium EADS Cassidian after outsmarting F-16 of American Lockheed Martin, F/A-18 of Boeing, MiG-35 of Russian United Aircraft Corp and Swedish SAAB's Gripen in a global competitive bid floated in August 2007.

    MORE India ARTICLES

    Top Indian Mountaineer Malli Mastan Babu, Who Went Missing, Found Dead In South America

    Top Indian Mountaineer Malli Mastan Babu, Who Went Missing, Found Dead In South America
    Indian mountaineer Malli Mastan Babu, who was missing since March 24 while climbing the mountains between Chile and Argentina, has been found dead, officials said here on Saturday.

    Top Indian Mountaineer Malli Mastan Babu, Who Went Missing, Found Dead In South America

    Badal Opposes BJP Legislator As Takht Hazoor Sahib Head

    Badal Opposes BJP Legislator As Takht Hazoor Sahib Head
    Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on Saturday shot off a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi opposing the "imposition" of a BJP legislator in Maharashtra as head of the managing board of Takht Hazoor Sahib, one of the five high seats of Sikh religion.

    Badal Opposes BJP Legislator As Takht Hazoor Sahib Head

    Fresh Trouble Hits FabIndia After Apology, Bail For Staffers

    Fresh Trouble Hits FabIndia After Apology, Bail For Staffers
    Four employees of Fabindia were released on bail by a Goa court on Saturday, as Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar ruled out any mischief and the company issued an apology to union HRD minister Smriti Irani over the alleged CCTV snooping at a store in the coastal state. 

    Fresh Trouble Hits FabIndia After Apology, Bail For Staffers

    AAP's Self-annihilation: Is Fate On Modi's Side

    AAP's Self-annihilation: Is Fate On Modi's Side
    The Aam Admi Party's (AAP's) suicidal tendencies are bound to help the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) more than any other party because the saffron outfit is politically better placed to exploit them.

    AAP's Self-annihilation: Is Fate On Modi's Side

    Muslim Girl From Thane Tops Bhagwad Gita Competition

    Muslim Girl From Thane Tops Bhagwad Gita Competition
    A 12-year old Muslim schoolgirl recently topped an examination on knowledge of the Hindu holy book, Bhagwad Gita, conducted by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), it was announced here on Friday.

    Muslim Girl From Thane Tops Bhagwad Gita Competition

    BJP Confident Of Ruling India For 10-20 Years

    BJP Confident Of Ruling India For 10-20 Years
    The Bharatiya Janata Party, which stormed to power nationally last year, on Friday, expressed confidence that it will rule India for 10 to 20 years.

    BJP Confident Of Ruling India For 10-20 Years