CAG on Rafale deal: Jets are 2.86% cheaper compared with UPA price
The pricing points in the report have been redacted as the details cannot be revealed
The pricing points in the report have been redacted as the details cannot be revealed
The pricing points in the report have been redacted as the details cannot be revealed
The pricing points in the report have been redacted as the details cannot be revealed
After generating massive political controversy, the Comptroller and Auditor General report on Rafale deal was tabled in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday. After being scheduled for Tuesday's meeting, it was postponed to Wednesday.
According to the report, the overall price of fighter jets is 2.86 per cent cheaper as compared to the UPA-era deal. It also affs that when compared to the 126 aircraft deal, the 36 Rafale contract signed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi managed to save 17.08 per cent for the India Specific Enhancements. The report says that the delivery schedule for the first 18 aircraft is better by five months than the one proposed in the 126 aircraft deal negotiated by the UPA government.
The government's decision to buy 36 Rafale fighter jets from French company Dassault has become a controversial political issue, with the main opposition party Congress levelling allegations of corruption and impropriety, and the ruling dispensation defending the move.
Former minister and senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal on Sunday alleged conflict of interest and had asked the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) Rajiv Mehrishi to recuse himself from auditing the deal as he was the finance secretary when the deal was negotiated.
Union Minister Arun Jaitley, however, rebutted the claims of Sibal saying that the Congress was casting aspersions on the institution of CAG based on "falsehood".