Rafale Jet deal: India, France set up teams to work out details

India and France on Wednesday decided to set up teams to work out details of the acquisition of 36 Rafale fighter jets in fly-away condition in a "time bound manner".

The decision came following the meeting between visting French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian and his counterpart here Manohar Parrikar.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had last month announced India's intention to buy 36 Rafale fighter jets from France under a government to government deal during his trip to the country.
As a follow-up on the subject, Drian and Parrikar met here to decide on the way forward.

"The two Defence Ministers discussed modalities in order to reach an early conclusion of an Inter-Governmental agreement on the subject. The two sides decided to set up teams to work out the details in a time bound manner," a short statement by the Defence Ministry said.

French defence major Dassault Aviation, manufacturer of Rafale, is likely to enter into a joint venture with state-run HAL or any private player to set up a base here for augmenting its existing production line in Merignac in France, defence sources had said.

The deal is estimated to be over US $6 billion and will have about 30-50% offset.