Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Monday said that the negotiations with the French government to finalise the deal for supplying 36 Rafale aircraft will start anytime in this month. He also said that the finalistion of the defence procurement procedures will be completed in the next two to three months. The Defence Ministry has cleared procurements worth Rs 1,10,000 crore, of which 90 per cent is under 'Make in India' campaign: Parrikar.


The Defence Minister made these remarks on a day when his French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian is arriving here to sign the formal deal for supplying 36 Rafale aircraft, the medium multi-role combat fighters of Dassault, to the Indian Air Force as agreed during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Paris last month.


Defence officials said that it would be interesting to watch which Indian firm Dassult picks as a partner for a manufacturing base in India.



Also read: Rafale deal: Modi's Parisian blunder