Dassault Papers Show Reliance Entry Mandatory For Rafale Deal: Report
NEW DELHI/PARIS: An internal document of Dassault Aviation, the makers of the Rafale fighters that India is buying from France, has added more fuel to the controversy that is raging in India over the deal for the 36 jets.
French investigative journal Mediapart have reported that they have accessed a document that says Dassault picking Anil Ambani's Reliance Defence as the offset partner in India was mandatory for the Rafale deal.
The article uses the French word 'contrepartie' to describe Reliance being made the offset partner, which when translated to English, means "counterpart".
Last month, the French aerospace major had said the decision to partner with Reliance Defence for the Rafale deal was its own, after former French President Francois Hollande had claimed, in an interview to Mediapart, that the Indian government proposed Reliance Defence as the partner in the Rs. 58,000 crore Rafale deal and France did not have a choice.
Political sparring over the Rafale deal had escalated sharply after Mr Hollande's comment. The opposition has accused the government of going for a not-so-favourable contract to benefit Anil Ambani. Both the government and the industrialist have denied the charge.
The previous Congress-led UPA government had negotiated with Dassault for 126 Rafale jets under which 18 jets were to be supplied in a fly-away condition and 108 were to be manufactured in India along with state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). However, the UPA could not seal the deal.
In the deal negotiated by the new government, Anil Ambani's firm became Dassault's offset partner with no experience in the field. As part of the offset clause, Dassault has to ensure that business worth at least half the money - Rs.30,000 - is generated in India.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced the procurement of a batch of 36 Rafale jets after holding talks with the then French President Hollande on April 10, 2015 in Paris.
Courtesy: www.ndtv.com
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CBSE announces results for Class 10 board exams
New Delhi (PTI): The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) on Wednesday announced results for Class 10 board exams, officials said.
"The results have been declared," a senior board official said.
The CBSE started with two editions of board exams for Class 10 from this year. It was mandatory for students to appear in the first edition, the results of which have been declared.
