74 Indian Negotiating Team meetings took place before inking Rafale deal, Centre tells SC
New Delhi, Nov 12: The Centre told the Supreme Court on Monday that as many as 74 meetings of the Indian Negotiating Team (INT) took place, including 26 with the French side, from May 2015 to April 2016 on the Rafale deal.
INT was constituted to negotiate the terms and conditions of the procurement of 36 Rafale aircraft.
The INT was headed by the Deputy Chief of Air Staff (DCAS) of IAF and comprised of the Joint Secretary & Acquisition Manager (Air); Joint Secretary (Defence Offset Management Wing); Joint Secretary & Additional Financial Advisor; Finance Manager (Air); Advisor (Cost) and Assistant Chief of Air Staff (Plans) as members from Indian Government side.
The French side was headed by the Director General of Armament (DGA), Ministry of Defense, Government of France, it said.
"Negotiations between INT and the French side started in May 2015 and continued up to April 2016. A total of 74 meetings, which included 48 internal INT meetings and 26 external INT meetings with French side were held during the negotiations.
"As mandated by the Defence Acquisition Council, the INT undertook a collegiate process involving due deliberations and diligence at various levels during the negotiations. Aspects pertaining to the responsibility and obligations of French Government, pricing, delivery schedule, maintenance terms, offsets, IGA terms, etc. were discussed and negotiated during these meetings," the Centre told the top court.
India signed an agreement with France for the purchase of 36 Rafale fighter aircraft in a fly-away condition as part of the upgrading process of the Indian Air Force equipment. The estimated cost of the deal is Rs 58,000 crore.
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Will of people supreme, says Mahua Moitra after BJP's landslide victory in Bengal
Kolkata (PTI): A day after the Trinamool Congress faced a drubbing by the BJP in the West Bengal assembly elections, TMC MP Mohua Moitra on Tuesday said her party respects the mandate as the will of the people is supreme.
She also said that the party will continue the fight for a “secular country”.
In a post on X, Moitra said, “The will of the people is supreme. If Bengal wanted BJP, then Bengal has got BJP. We respect that.”
The BJP on Monday scripted history by winning 206 seats to secure more than a two-thirds majority in the West Bengal assembly polls, ending the TMC’s 15-year rule.
"We fought the good fight against unimaginable odds on an uneven pitch and for that I am proud of my leader & my party," Moitra said.
She said the TMC will continue to stand and fight for a secular country where the constitution, and "not brute majoritarianism, is the last word”.
