Government document accessed by MyNation suggests that the cost of the planes under the UPA would have been Rs 255 crore more if the NDA government had settled for the same aircraft that their predecessors had been negotiating for
In the deal for 36 Rafale aircraft signed by the Narendra Modi government with France, India has managed to save Rs 59 crore per aircraft in comparison to the estimated cost of 126 planes which were being negotiated for by the UPA government.
A government document prepared by the Ministry of Defence and the Indian Air Force this year and accessed by MyNation shows that the per unit price of Modi regime’s Rafales, after taking into account the cost of weapons, maintenance, simulators, repair support and technical assistance is coming out to Rs 1,646 crore while the ones negotiated for by the UPA would have come to Rs 1,705 crore.
The document suggests that the cost of the planes under the UPA would have been Rs 255 crore more if the NDA government had settled for the same aircraft that their predecessors had been negotiating for.
The total cost of 36 Rafales is Rs 59,262 crore whereas the 126 planes during the UPA time would have cost Rs 1,72,185 crores as per the document.
Despite spending Rs 9,855 more on the India Specific Enhancements in the planes in the deal done by the Modi government, the cost of the planes is coming to Rs 59 crore less than the UPA price for each aircraft.
The NDA government has been arguing for a long time that its full-fledged deal for 36 Rafales is much better than the UPA deal that was withdrawn at the negotiations stage itself in terms of both price, as well as the capability, of the planes. This document settles the debate once and for all.
Congress president Rahul Gandhi has been making allegations for the last one year that there is a scam in the 36-plane deal done by Modi government and demanding from the government the exact price of the contract with France.
The document also shows that the Modi government has also managed to get extra muscle for the planes in form of the 150 km-range METEOR air-to-air beyond visual range missiles while it would also be able to destroy ground targets using the 300-km range SCALP missiles which were not part of the package of the UPA deal.
Further, the secret document contains a copy of the file over which the then Defence Minister AK Antony had asked, in writing for a re-examination of the entire process by the Ministry of Defence and its Finance wing (after the finalisation of the commercial negotiations) to determine the lowest bidder — the basis on which Rafale was chosen by India over the European Eurofighter Typhoon, thus confusing the then negotiating team.
Read Exclusive COVID-19 Coronavirus News updates, at MyNation.