Mainstream WeeklyThe Rafale controversy has its origin in the decision to purchase 126 multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA) by the Indian Air Force (IAF), as announced by the Ministry of Defence on the 28th of August, 2007, through a Request for Proposal (RFP) for the procurement of 126 MMRCA (medium multi-role combat aircraft) fighters.
It was only after 5 years, on the 31st January 2012, that the Ministry of Defence of the then UPA Government announced that Dassault Rafale had won the MMRCA competition to supply the Indian Air Force with 126 aircraft, along with an option for 63 additional ones. The initial 18 aircraft were to be imported from Dassault Aviation, and the remaining 108 aircraft manufactured under license by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) to whom there would follow a technology transfer. Rafale was apparently chosen as the lowest bidder based on various factors, including the cost of acquisition, operating cost over a duration of 40 years and the cost of transfer of technology.
It was only in In March 2014, a few months prior to the General elections, that HAL and Dassault signed a work-share agreement on licensed manufacture. The deal was held up for a sufficiently long time because the Indian Government insisted that the guarantee for the subsequent aircraft should rest with Rafale. Hence no firm agreement could be signed during the tenure of the UPA Government.
In June, the UPA lost the elections and NDA under Narendra Modi took over. On the 8th of August, 2014, the then Defence minister Arun Jaitley informed Parliament that 18 direct ‘fly-away’ aircraft were expected to be delivered in 3-4 years from signing of the contract and the remaining 108 aircraft were expected in the next seven years. In February 2015, it was reported by the media that the Rafale purchase was heading for cancellation on account of deficiencies in Dassault’s bid, and on the 25th of March 2015, Dassault’s CEO Éric Trappier publicly refuted the reports, stating that although the deal was taking time, it was "95 percent completed