Mumbai: The much-negotiated Rafale deal with France is in 'final stages' with India set to buy 36 fighter jets for 7.8 billion euros (about Rs 59,000 crore), defence ministry sources said on Friday.
The deal comes with the clause of delivering 50 per cent offsets, creating business worth at least 3 billion Euros for smaller Indian companies and creating thousands of new jobs in India through the offsets.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced in April 25 that India would go for a government-to-government deal with France for purchasing the fighter planes but the final contract was kept pending over the price of the aircraft. The Rafales are made by French manufacturer Dassault Aviation.
During French President Francois Hollande's visit in January, India and France inked an MoU for the purchase but differences over the pricing of the fighter jets still persisted.
Top government sources had said in January that an Inter-Governmental Agreement will be signed only once the prices have been finalised.
Sources said the price for 36 Rafales, as per the tender floated by the previous UPA government, keeping cost escalation and dollar rate in mind, had come to a little over Rs 65,000 crore. This included cost involved in making changes India sought in the aircraft, like Israeli helmet-mounted display and some specific weaponry.
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