The first batch of five Rafale jets flew out of France's Merignac airbase today and will arrive in India on Wednesday, July 29. The aircraft has been developed by France's aviation firm Dassault and equipped with modern radar technology to tackle modern air combat.

First batch of Rafales jets fly out of France from Merignac airbase

Terming the controversial Rafale deal as India's "biggest Defence scam", the Congress on Monday demanded the Central Vigilance Commissioner (CVC) KV Chowdary to seize all documents and register an FIR into the alleged corruption.

After meeting the CVC and seeking an independent probe into the case on Monday, Congress leader Anand Sharma said, "A delegation of Congress has met with Central Vigilance Commission (CVC), submitted a detailed memorandum on Rafale fighter jet purchase scam. It is the biggest scam in the acquisition history of this country."

"This was the arbitrary decision of the Prime Minister of India who without any mandate from the Cabinet Committee on Security decided to do away with three important things of the original tender purchase of 126 planes and more importantly the approved price of Rs 526 crore that went up to Rs 1,670 crore. The government has been lying and hiding. Therefore, we have demanded the CVC to take cognizance, to seize all files and documents and register an FIR," he added.

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A delegation of Congress has met with Central Vigilance Commission (CVC), submitted a detailed memorandum on <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Rafale?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Rafale</a> jet purchase scam. We have demanded CVC to take cognizance, to seize all files and documents and register an FIR: Anand Sharma, Congress <a href="https://t.co/DRxc5fD520">pic.twitter.com/DRxc5fD520</a>
— ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/1044146461271838720?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 24, 2018</a></blockquote>
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The meeting came days after a Congress delegation met the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) Rajiv Mehrishi and urged the apex auditor to prepare a report on the alleged irregularities in the deal and present it in Parliament.

The Rafale controversy took a new twist last week after former French president Francois Hollande claimed that the Indian government proposed Reliance Defence`s name as the offset partner for Dassault Aviation.

The Congress has been accusing the Centre of irregularities in the high-profile Defence fighter jets contract, alleging that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government was procuring each aircraft at a cost of over Rs 1,670 crore as against Rs 526 crore finalised by the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government.

(With inputs from agencies)

Terming the controversial Rafale deal as India's "biggest Defence scam", the Congress on Monday demanded the Central Vigilance Commissioner (CVC) KV Chowdary to seize all documents and register an FIR into the alleged corruption.

Terming the controversial Rafale deal as India's "biggest Defence scam", the Congress on Monday demanded the Central Vigilance Commissioner (CVC) KV Chowdary to seize all documents and register an FIR into the alleged corruption. After meeting the CVC and seeking an independent probe into the case on Monday, Congress leader Anand Sharma said, "A delegation of Congress has met with Central Vigilance Commission (CVC), submitted a detailed memorandum on Rafale fighter jet purchase scam. It is the biggest scam in the acquisition history of this country." "This was the arbitrary decision of the Prime Minister of India who without any mandate from the Cabinet Committee on Security decided to do away with three important things of the original tender purchase of 126 planes and more importantly the approved price of Rs 526 crore that went up to Rs 1,670 crore. The government has been lying and hiding. Therefore, we have demanded the CVC to take cognizance, to seize all files and documents and register an FIR," he added. A delegation of Congress has met with Central Vigilance Commission (CVC), submitted a detailed memorandum on #Rafale jet purchase scam. We have demanded CVC to take cognizance, to seize all files and documents and register an FIR: Anand Sharma, Congress pic.twitter.com/DRxc5fD520 — ANI (@ANI) September 24, 2018 × The meeting came days after a Congress delegation met the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) Rajiv Mehrishi and urged the apex auditor to prepare a report on the alleged irregularities in the deal and present it in Parliament. The Rafale controversy took a new twist last week after former French president Francois Hollande claimed that the Indian government proposed Reliance Defence`s name as the offset partner for Dassault Aviation. The Congress has been accusing the Centre of irregularities in the high-profile Defence fighter jets contract, alleging that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government was procuring each aircraft at a cost of over Rs 1,670 crore as against Rs 526 crore finalised by the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government. (With inputs from agencies)

Congress team meets CVC on Rafale deal, demands registration of corruption case 

The French government said Sunday it feared damage to its relations with India after former president Francois Hollande stirred controversy about a major deal to sell fighter jets to New Delhi.

Hollande, who left office in May last year, said Friday during a trip to India that French jet manufacturer Dassault Aviation had been given no choice about its local partner in a 2016 deal with the Indian administration.

The nationalist government of Narendra Modi agreed to buy 36 Rafale jets from Dassault, which announced afterwards it was partnering for the project with billionaire Anil Ambani rather than India's public defence conglomerate HAL.

Hollande's announcement that Dassault "did not have a say in it" added fuel to claims from India's opposition that the New Delhi government had intervened to help Ambani, who is a supporter of Modi and hails from the same state as him.

"I find these remarks made overseas, which concern important international relations between France and India, do not help anyone and above all do not help France," junior foreign minister Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne said Sunday about Hollande.

"Because one is no longer in office, causing damage to a strategic partnership between India and France by making remarks that clearly cause controversy in India is really not appropriate," he said in an interview on Radio J.

Hollande made the comments to defend himself from accusations of a conflict of interest because Ambani's Reliance conglomerate had partially financed a film produced by his girlfriend, Julie Gayet, in 2016.

The choice of Reliance for a highly strategic contract to upgrade India's ageing fleet of fighter jets had caused surprise at the time because the group had no previous experience in the aeronautics industry.&nbsp;

Hollande's comments were front-page news in Indian newspapers on Saturday and it was the top trending topic on Twitter.

Rahul Gandhi, head of the main opposition Congress party, who is seeking to replace Modi and his rightwing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in elections next year, went on the offensive.

"An ex-president of France is calling him (the prime minister of India) a thief. It's a question of the dignity of the office of the prime minister," he told a news conference in New Delhi.

The French government said Sunday it feared damage to its relations with India after former president Francois Hollande stirred controversy about a major deal to sell fighter jets to New Delhi.

The French government said Sunday it feared damage to its relations with India after former president Francois Hollande stirred controversy about a major deal to sell fighter jets to New Delhi. Hollande, who left office in May last year, said Friday during a trip to India that French jet manufacturer Dassault Aviation had been given no choice about its local partner in a 2016 deal with the Indian administration. The nationalist government of Narendra Modi agreed to buy 36 Rafale jets from Dassault, which announced afterwards it was partnering for the project with billionaire Anil Ambani rather than India's public defence conglomerate HAL. Hollande's announcement that Dassault "did not have a say in it" added fuel to claims from India's opposition that the New Delhi government had intervened to help Ambani, who is a supporter of Modi and hails from the same state as him. "I find these remarks made overseas, which concern important international relations between France and India, do not help anyone and above all do not help France," junior foreign minister Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne said Sunday about Hollande. "Because one is no longer in office, causing damage to a strategic partnership between India and France by making remarks that clearly cause controversy in India is really not appropriate," he said in an interview on Radio J. Hollande made the comments to defend himself from accusations of a conflict of interest because Ambani's Reliance conglomerate had partially financed a film produced by his girlfriend, Julie Gayet, in 2016. The choice of Reliance for a highly strategic contract to upgrade India's ageing fleet of fighter jets had caused surprise at the time because the group had no previous experience in the aeronautics industry. Hollande's comments were front-page news in Indian newspapers on Saturday and it was the top trending topic on Twitter. Rahul Gandhi, head of the main opposition Congress party, who is seeking to replace Modi and his rightwing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in elections next year, went on the offensive. "An ex-president of France is calling him (the prime minister of India) a thief. It's a question of the dignity of the office of the prime minister," he told a news conference in New Delhi.

France worried about relations with India after Hollande comments on Rafale deal

A day after calling Prime Minister Narendra Modi ''thief'', Rahul Gandhi on Sunday took a swipe at Finance Minister Arun Jaitley with a cryptic tweet and accused him of defending the ''indefensible''.&nbsp;

Punning on the union minister's surname that he is a lier, Rahul tweeted, ''Mr Jetlie’s speciality is his ability to spin &nbsp;“2 truths”, or lies, with fake self-righteousness &amp; indignation to defend the indefensible.'' &nbsp;

''It’s high time he (Jaitley), the RM &amp; our PM stop lying and call a JPC to establish the full, uncorrupted truth about the #RafaleScam,'' he further said in the tweet.

Congress and BJP are locked in a war of words over the ongoing Rafale deal with both accusing each other of corruption.&nbsp;

Yesterday, Rahul Gandhi taking a swipe at BJP's much-touted surgical strikes on said PM &nbsp;Modi and Anil Ambani carried out a &nbsp;one hundred &amp; thirty thousand crore, surgical strike on the Indian Defence forces.&nbsp;

Meanwhile, Jaitley on Sunday responded to Raul's thief remark.

Finance Minister talking to news agency ANI, on Sunday attacked Congress President Rahul Gandhi over lowering the public discourse. Jaitley said; "Public discourse is not a laughter challenge, you go and hug someone, wink at someone, then keep giving wrong statements. In a democracy, you have the right to criticise but the choice of words should be such that it shows some semblance of intelligence"

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Mr Jetlie’s speciality is his ability to spin “2 truths”, or lies, with fake self righteousness &amp; indignation to defend the indefensible. It’s high time he, the RM &amp; our PM stop lying and call a JPC to establish the full, uncorrupted truth about the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/RafaleScam?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#RafaleScam</a>. <a href="https://t.co/iQxrV5ooN5">pic.twitter.com/iQxrV5ooN5</a>
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) <a href="https://twitter.com/RahulGandhi/status/1043822025234677761?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 23, 2018</a></blockquote>
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&nbsp;

A day after calling Prime Minister Narendra Modi ''thief'', Rahul Gandhi on Sunday took a swipe at Finance Minister Arun Jaitley with a cryptic tweet and accused him of defending the ''indefensible''.

A day after calling Prime Minister Narendra Modi ''thief'', Rahul Gandhi on Sunday took a swipe at Finance Minister Arun Jaitley with a cryptic tweet and accused him of defending the ''indefensible''. Punning on the union minister's surname that he is a lier, Rahul tweeted, ''Mr Jetlie’s speciality is his ability to spin “2 truths”, or lies, with fake self-righteousness & indignation to defend the indefensible.'' ''It’s high time he (Jaitley), the RM & our PM stop lying and call a JPC to establish the full, uncorrupted truth about the #RafaleScam,'' he further said in the tweet. Congress and BJP are locked in a war of words over the ongoing Rafale deal with both accusing each other of corruption. Yesterday, Rahul Gandhi taking a swipe at BJP's much-touted surgical strikes on said PM Modi and Anil Ambani carried out a one hundred & thirty thousand crore, surgical strike on the Indian Defence forces. Meanwhile, Jaitley on Sunday responded to Raul's thief remark. Finance Minister talking to news agency ANI, on Sunday attacked Congress President Rahul Gandhi over lowering the public discourse. Jaitley said; "Public discourse is not a laughter challenge, you go and hug someone, wink at someone, then keep giving wrong statements. In a democracy, you have the right to criticise but the choice of words should be such that it shows some semblance of intelligence" Mr Jetlie’s speciality is his ability to spin “2 truths”, or lies, with fake self righteousness & indignation to defend the indefensible. It’s high time he, the RM & our PM stop lying and call a JPC to establish the full, uncorrupted truth about the #RafaleScam. pic.twitter.com/iQxrV5ooN5 — Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) September 23, 2018 ×

Rahul Gandhi calls for JPC to establish 'uncorrupted' truth in Rafale deal

India&#39;s Reliance Group and France&#39;s Dassault have signed a lucrative defence partnership as part of a fighter jet deal agreed between the two nations last month, the companies said on Monday.

India signed a contract to buy 36 Rafale fighter jets for 7.9 billion Euros ($8.8 billion), France&#39;s biggest ever such sale, as the nation seeks to bolster its military in the face of China&#39;s growing clout.

Dassault, which is building the aircraft, agreed under the terms of the deal to invest about 50 per cent of the value of the contract in India.

It has teamed with Indian billionaire tycoon Anil Ambani&#39;s Reliance Group in a joint venture called &quot;Dassault Reliance Aerospace&quot; to focus on research and development of unspecified defence projects in India.

The partnership &quot;illustrates our strong commitment to establish ourselves in India,&quot; Dassault CEO Eric Trappier said in a joint statement.

Ambani added that the deal was &quot;a transformational moment for the Indian aerospace sector.&quot;

However, the companies did not say how much of Dassault&#39;s estimated 300-billion Rupee ($4.5-billion) required investment would be poured into the joint venture.&nbsp;

India, the world&#39;s top defence importer, is conducting a $100-billion upgrade of its Soviet-era military hardware, facing border disputes with its northern and western neighbours, China and Pakistan.

But Prime Minister Narendra Modi has moved to reduce India&#39;s reliance on expensive imports and called for the manufacturing of defence equipment locally.

Modi&#39;s government has raised the limit on foreign investment in the defence sector and encouraged tie-ups between foreign and local companies.

The Rafale purchase was first mooted in 2012 but has faced major delays and obstacles.

India entered exclusive negotiations on buying 126 Rafale jets four years ago, but the number of planes was scaled back in frustrating negotiations over the cost and assembly of the planes in India.

Modi announced on a visit to Paris last year that his government had agreed in principle to buy the jets.

But the deal continued to be held back by disagreements such as Delhi&#39;s insistence about a percentage of the contract being invested in India, known as the offset clause, before it was eventually signed in September.

(AFP)

India is conducting a $100-billion upgrade of its Soviet-era military hardware

India's Reliance Group and France's Dassault have signed a lucrative defence partnership as part of a fighter jet deal agreed between the two nations last month, the companies said on Monday. India signed a contract to buy 36 Rafale fighter jets for 7.9 billion Euros ($8.8 billion), France's biggest ever such sale, as the nation seeks to bolster its military in the face of China's growing clout. Dassault, which is building the aircraft, agreed under the terms of the deal to invest about 50 per cent of the value of the contract in India. It has teamed with Indian billionaire tycoon Anil Ambani's Reliance Group in a joint venture called "Dassault Reliance Aerospace" to focus on research and development of unspecified defence projects in India. The partnership "illustrates our strong commitment to establish ourselves in India," Dassault CEO Eric Trappier said in a joint statement. Ambani added that the deal was "a transformational moment for the Indian aerospace sector." However, the companies did not say how much of Dassault's estimated 300-billion Rupee ($4.5-billion) required investment would be poured into the joint venture. India, the world's top defence importer, is conducting a $100-billion upgrade of its Soviet-era military hardware, facing border disputes with its northern and western neighbours, China and Pakistan. But Prime Minister Narendra Modi has moved to reduce India's reliance on expensive imports and called for the manufacturing of defence equipment locally. Modi's government has raised the limit on foreign investment in the defence sector and encouraged tie-ups between foreign and local companies. The Rafale purchase was first mooted in 2012 but has faced major delays and obstacles. India entered exclusive negotiations on buying 126 Rafale jets four years ago, but the number of planes was scaled back in frustrating negotiations over the cost and assembly of the planes in India. Modi announced on a visit to Paris last year that his government had agreed in principle to buy the jets. But the deal continued to be held back by disagreements such as Delhi's insistence about a percentage of the contract being invested in India, known as the offset clause, before it was eventually signed in September. (AFP)

India's Reliance Group seals partnership with France's Dassault for Rafale fighter jets

Indian cabinet on Wednesday cleared the purchase of 36 Rafale fighter jets from Dassault Aviation, the fist fighter jet deal in 20 years.&nbsp; 
 
Under the deal, India will get 36 Rafale jets in fly-away condition at the cost of Euros 7.8 billion.&nbsp; 
 
Prime Minister Narendra Modi headed the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) to discuss the deal which is crucial to boost the Indian Air Force. 
 
The announcement paves the way for signing of the mega deal with France. French defence minister Yves Le Drian is arriving on September 23 to finalise the deal. 
 
The deliveries will start in 36 months and finished in 66 months from the date contract is inked. 
 
The deal comes with a saving of nearly 750 million Euros than the earlier one, besides a 50 per cent offset clause.&nbsp; 
 
The jets come equipped with state-of-the-art missiles like Meteor and Scalp that will give the IAF a capability that had been sorely missing in its arsenal.&nbsp; 
 
The armaments cost about 710 million Euros while Indian specific changes, including integration of Israeli helmet mounted displays, will cost 1700 million Euros.&nbsp; 
 
Besides other features that make the Rafale a strategic weapon in the hands of the IAF is the Beyond Visual Range Meteor air-to-air missile with a range in excess of 150 kilometres. 
 
Scalp, a long-range air-to-ground cruise missile with a range in excess of 300 kilometres also gives the IAF an edge over its adversaries. 
 
French President Francois Hollande Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had intervened in the troubled Rafale procurement last year, ordering government-to-government talks after commercial negotiations with Dassault had collapsed. 
 
India&#39;s fighter aircraft fleet, comprising Russian, British and French planes, is down to 33 squadrons as against the air force&#39;s requirement of 45. 
 
(WION with inputs from agencies) 
&nbsp;

The mega-deal to boost the Indian Air Force comes a cost of Euros 7.8 billion and a 50 percent offset clause

Indian cabinet on Wednesday cleared the purchase of 36 Rafale fighter jets from Dassault Aviation, the fist fighter jet deal in 20 years. Under the deal, India will get 36 Rafale jets in fly-away condition at the cost of Euros 7.8 billion. Prime Minister Narendra Modi headed the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) to discuss the deal which is crucial to boost the Indian Air Force. The announcement paves the way for signing of the mega deal with France. French defence minister Yves Le Drian is arriving on September 23 to finalise the deal. The deliveries will start in 36 months and finished in 66 months from the date contract is inked. The deal comes with a saving of nearly 750 million Euros than the earlier one, besides a 50 per cent offset clause. The jets come equipped with state-of-the-art missiles like Meteor and Scalp that will give the IAF a capability that had been sorely missing in its arsenal. The armaments cost about 710 million Euros while Indian specific changes, including integration of Israeli helmet mounted displays, will cost 1700 million Euros. Besides other features that make the Rafale a strategic weapon in the hands of the IAF is the Beyond Visual Range Meteor air-to-air missile with a range in excess of 150 kilometres. Scalp, a long-range air-to-ground cruise missile with a range in excess of 300 kilometres also gives the IAF an edge over its adversaries. French President Francois Hollande Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had intervened in the troubled Rafale procurement last year, ordering government-to-government talks after commercial negotiations with Dassault had collapsed. India's fighter aircraft fleet, comprising Russian, British and French planes, is down to 33 squadrons as against the air force's requirement of 45. (WION with inputs from agencies)

India approves purchase of 36 Rafale fighter jets