RAFAEL DEAL -- A WRITE UP FOR INTERVIEW

he Supreme Court today (December 14) dismissed all writ petitions demanding a court-monitored CBI probe into the Rafale jet deal. The apex court said it had no objections to any aspect of the deal and gave it the go-ahead.

The ruling today came on four petitions that had asked the Supreme Court to set up a court-monitored probe into the signing of the Rafale deal. The petitions had alleged that the Modi government not only overpaid for 36 Rafale jets but also promoted crony capitalism.

The Modi government had signed an inter-governmental deal with France in 2016 for the sale of 36 Rafale medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA) in flyaway condition. The deal, however, came under intense political scrutiny in India and in France after the Opposition alleged that Anil Ambani-owned Reliance Defence had been signed on as the offset partner by weapons manufacturer Dassault Aviation, even though the company had no previous experience.

The deal has been at the centre of much controversy, with the Opposition making it a key weapon in its arsenal against the Modi government.

KNOW ALL ABOUT THE DEAL HERE:

The UPA government released tenders for 126 MMRCA fighters, based on the demand by the Indian Air Force in 2007.

In January 2012, a French company, Dassault Aviation made the lowest bids for their aircraft Rafale. According to conditions 126 jets were required, out of which 18 fighters were to be imported in a fly-away condition. Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) was supposed to manufacture the remaining 108 jets with assistance from Dassault.

HAL and Dassault signed a workshare agreement in 2014. Negotiations were carried out over pricing, technology, weapons system, customisation and maintenance.

No final UPA deal because it was never finalised. The Congress party claims that it had negotiated a deal with the price of Rs 526.1 crore per jet but whether Dassault agreed to deliver the jets with India-specific requirements in a given timeline could not be known because this UPA deal never went through.

In April 2015, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Paris and announced government's decision to buy 36 Rafale fighters in a flyaway condition, citing critical operational requirements of the Indian Air Force. In June, defence ministry officially withdrew the 126 aircraft deal tender.

Cut to January 2016 when French President François Hollande visited India on the occasion of Republic Day. A memorandum of understanding on the purchase of Rafale jets was signed between India and France.

India and France signed the final deal for 36 Rafale jets for €7.87 billion (approximately Rs 59,000 crore) in 2016. According to this deal, the delivery of jets would start from September 2018.

In October 2016, business tycoon Anil Ambani officially entered the picture. Anil Ambani's Reliance Defence and Dassault Aviation announced a joint venture. Under the contract, Dassault was mandated to make compensation investments (offsets) in India worth 50 per cent of the value of the purchase.

Fast forward to 2018, while the Congress had been alleging favouritism by the Modi government for over a year, the first real blow to the Centre came when French publication Mediapart interviewed former French president Francois Hollande revealed that he had no choice in selecting the Indian offset partner and the name of Reliance was given by the Indian side.

Hollande's interview added fuel to the fire in the controversy surrounding the deal. India's Ministry of Defence issued statements reiterating that neither of the two governments was involved in the commercial decision. Dassault Aviation issued a statement claiming it was Dassault's decision to choose Reliance and it had signed similar contracts with several other companies.

The Congress alleged that the Modi government signed the contract with France at a much higher price than negotiated during the UPA rule. Rahul Gandhi and other Opposition leaders demanded that the government must reveal the price of Rafale. The government rejected the demand saying that the price disclosure is covered under the secrecy clause of the deal. Rahul Gandhi claimed that he had been told "personally" by former French President Francois Hollande that the Modi government could reveal the price of Rafale without jeopardising the defence deal.

The Opposition stepped up its attack on the Modi government regarding the deal. Congress started alluding to PM Modi as the corrupt guard ("chowkidar chor hai").

Four separate petitions filed before the Supreme Court raising questions about the pricing, choice of Reliance as the offset partner, as well as the process followed in finalisation of the Rafale deal. The four petitions were filed by advocates Prashant Bhushan, ML Sharma and Vineet Dhanda, former parliamentarians Yashwant Sinha and Arun Shourie, and AAP MP Sanjay Singh.

A bench headed by CJI Ranjan Gogoi reserved verdict in the case on November 14 after extensive arguments. While reserving the verdict, the apex court had said that the pricing details of Rafale jets could only be discussed after it decides on whether to make it public. The apex court had asked wide-ranging questions from the government on issues including lack of a sovereign guarantee from the French government, selection of Indian offset partner by the Dassault Aviation and need of entering into inter-governmental agreement (IGA) with France. During the arguments, the Centre had filed details of the pricing and the process followed during the deal in a sealed cover before the court, and had claimed that the details of the deal were being kept secret "in the national interest".

December 14: The Supreme Court said today that it found nothing wrong with the Rafale deal. A bench headed by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi said that it had studied the matter "extensively" and that it was "satisfied that there is no occasion to doubt the process [of signing the Rafale deal]". The Supreme Court, however, said that the Rafale deal process was perfectly fine and dismissed all PILs that demanded a court-monitored probe into it. The Supreme Court also said it was not its job to examine the pricing of the Rafale jets.

https://www.indiatoday.in/fyi/story/rafale-deal-know-all-about-rafale-deal-controversy-1409339-2018-12-14

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

ONLY FOR THE PURPOSE OF STUDY AND INFORMATION.  PLEASE READ THE FULL ARTICLE FOR clearer picture.  

briefly:

Our Government has signed deal for purchase of Rafael jets from the France company.  The negotiations started when UPA government was in power in 2014.  Final decisions could not be arrived.  Subsequently Indian Government and French government has entered into deal for purchase of Rafael jets for Indian Air Force.  . Anil Ambani's Reliance Defence and Dassault Aviation announced a joint venture. Under the contract, Dassault was mandated to make compensation investments (offsets) in India worth 50 per cent of the value of the purchase.

The congress party alleges favouritism being shown by the government favour of Anil Ambani-Reliance.  Petitions were filed against the deal.  Supreme Court dismissed these petitions on 14th December 2018.  The problem arose because French President informed that he had no choice in selection of Ambani for the joint venture and his name was suggested by Indian side,.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@