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New Delhi:
Congress chief P Chidambaram this morning attacked the federal government after the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG), in a report, known as for a overview of the Defence Ministry’s coverage for offsets over the Rs 58,000-crore Rafale take care of French agency Dassault Aviation. The French agency is but to switch technical help to India as part of the deal for 36 Rafale jets, the nationwide auditor mentioned its report that was tabled in parliament.
“CAG finds that the vendors of the Rafale aircraft have not confirmed the transfer of technology under the offset contract,” the 75-year-old Congress chief wrote in a tweet.
“The offset obligations should have started on 23-9-2019 and the first annual commitment should have been completed by 23-9-2020, that is yesterday. Will the government say if that obligation was fulfilled? Is the CAG report the opening of a can of worms? (sic),” Mr Chidambaram mentioned in one other submit, criticising the federal government.
In its report, the CAG identified: “In the offset of four contracts relating to 36 Medium Multi Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA), the vendors Dassault Aviation and MBDA initially proposed (September 2015) to discharge 30 per cent of their offset obligation by offering high technology to DRDO (Defence Research and Development Organisation).”
The offset obligations ought to have began on 23-9-2019 and the primary annual dedication ought to have been accomplished by 23-9-2020, that’s yesterday. Will the federal government say if that obligation was fulfilled?
Is the CAG report the opening of a can of worms?
— P. Chidambaram (@PChidambaram_IN) September 24, 2020
“DRDO wanted to obtain technical assistance for indigenous development of engine (Kaveri) for the Light Combat Aircraft. Till date the vendor has not confirmed the transfer of this technology,” the nationwide audit watchdog additional underlined, including that the Defence Ministry’s coverage of offsets has “not yielded the desired result.”
“The (Defence) Ministry needs to review the policy and its implementation. It needs to identify the constraints faced by the foreign suppliers as well as the Indian industry in leveraging the offsets, and find solutions to overcome these constraints,” the report additional stresses.
The 58,000-crore deal to purchase 36 Rafale jets was signed in 2016 by the BJP authorities. Dassault Aviation mentioned it is going to ultimately meet its offset obligation, which has slowed down in the previous couple of months because of the coronavirus disaster. Five of the 36 jets have been inducted into Indian Air Force.
The Congress has been attacking the federal government over the acquisition of the Rafale jets. Last month, as the primary contingent landed in India, Congress chief Rahul Gandhi had tweeted: “Congratulations to IAF for Rafale. Meanwhile, can GOI answer: 1) Why each aircraft costs Rs1670 Crores instead of Rs526 Crores? 2) Why 36 aircraft were bought instead of 126? 3) Why was bankrupt Anil given a Rs30,000 Crores contract instead of HAL?”
The Congress marketing campaign for nationwide election — held in April-May final yr — was constructed across the allegation that PM Modi had signed off on an overpriced deal to facilitate an offset contract for Anil Ambani’s inexperienced defence firm. The authorities had rubbished the allegations.
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