Inter Government Agreement, Offset Contract On Rafale Deal Yet To Be Finalised: Manohar Parrikar

The Indian government on Tuesday said the Inter Government Agreement (IGA) and the offset contract for the multi-million euro Rafale fighter jet deal is yet to be finalised.

In a written reply to Parliamant on Tuesday, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said details including transfer of technology through offsets will emerge after the negotiations are completed.

“The negotiations are underway and IGA and offset contract are yet to be finalized,” he said.

A Negotiating Team has been constituted to negotiate the terms and conditions of the procurement of 36 Rafale jets and recommend a draft agreement. 

The Minister said aircraft being procured will have advanced features like Advanced Electronically Scanned Array Radar, mid-air refuelling and advanced electronic warfare equipment as part of its design.

According to PTI, the deal is estimated to be around 7.89 billion Euros.

The price was brought down from nearly 10 billion Euros, as sought initially, due to various reasons, including the discount offered by the French government and reworking of some of the criteria.

The deal comes with the clause of delivering 50 per cent offsets, creating business worth at least 3 billion Euros for smaller Indian companies and creating thousands of new jobs in India through the offsets.