NEW DELHI: The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) had cleared the Rs 58,000 crore Rafale deal in August, 2016, nearly 16 months after the announcement of its procurement was made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to France in April 2015, according to details provided by the Government in Parliament today.
Minister of State for Defence Subhash Bhamre said the cost of each Rafale aircraft is approximately Rs 670 crore but did not give details of prices of associated equipment, weapons and services. A similar response was given by him in November 2016 on the cost of each jet.
“The inter-Governmental agreement (IGA) for procurement of 36 Rafale aircraft with the French Government was accorded approval by the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) on August 24, 2016 and signed on December 23, 2016,” Bhamre said in a reply in the Rajya Sabha.
The Minister’s written response came to a question by Congress MP Vivek Tankha who specifically asked whether the CCS approval was sought at the time of announcement of the deal in France. (AGENCIES)
Follow our WhatsApp channel
