A French Rafale fighter aircraft. AFP file photo

Ajay Banerjee

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, April 15

India has finalised the Rafale fighter jet deal to purchase 36 jets from Dassault Aviation of France after negotiating teams from either side narrowed down their differences.

India has agreed to pay 7.89 billion euros (nearly Rs 59,000 crore) for the deal, top sources have confirmed. The Indian team has managed to bring down the deal price by nearly 11 billion euros.

This comes four months after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Francois Hollande signed a memorandum of agreement (MoU) to purchase the 36 jets.

It was earlier expected that the final deal would be clinched in another month’s time by the middle of May.

The delivery of first of the jets will be made some 18 to 20 months later. The Indian Air Force (IAF) needs new fighter jets since its fleet of fighter jets is at its lowest in a decade.

The deal comes with the clause of delivering 50 per cent offsets that will create business worth at least Rs 22,000 crore for Indian companies.

French companies will provide several aeronautics, electronics technologies under the offset obligation to Indian companies. French companies Safran and Thales will join Dassault in providing radars, thrust vectoring for missiles and materials for electronics.

Sticking points gone

• 11 bn euros Price brought down by Indian negotiators
• 22,000 cr business for Indian firmsthrough 50% offsets in deal
• Oct 2017 delivery of the firstbatch of jets to start