Rafael deal: CAG Report admits Technology transfers shelved in Rafale offsets, views it as a failure
Questioning the discharge of the ‘undertaking’ of the contract, CAG reported that the French manufacturer has not dispatched on its promises with reference to the technology transfer.
New Delhi, India:
Days have passed since the first batch of five Rafale jets were recently grounded in the Indian Air Force. However the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) in its report put forward in the Parliament on Wednesday 23rd September says that no technology has been transferred till now.
Questioning the discharge of the ‘undertaking’ of the contract, CAG reported that the French manufacturer has not dispatched on its promises with reference to the technology transfer.
The CAG report said “It was found that the foreign vendors made various offset commitments to qualify for the main supply contract but later, were not earnest about fulfilling these commitments. For instance, in the offset contract relating to 36 Medium Multi Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA), the vendors M/s Dassault Aviation and M/s 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).”
“DRDO wanted to obtain Technical Assistance for the indigenous development of engines (Kaveri) for the Light Combat Aircraft. Till date, the Vendor has not confirmed the transfer of this technology,” it further added.
Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi on August 22 claimed that “Money was stolen from the Indian exchequer in Rafale.”
CAG in its report also accepted ‘obtaining technology transfer has been a particular failure and also asserted that “90% of the investment by the vendors was in the form of direct purchase of goods and services from the Indian Industry.”
CAG said, “It did not find a single case when the foreign vendor had transferred high technology to the Indian industry. The defence sector is ranked 62nd out of the 63 sectors in India in terms of FD and there was hardly any equipment supplied in kind to the Indian industry by the foreign vendors”. The CAG suggested, “The Defence Ministry needs to review the policy and its implementation.”
The CAG in its statement also stated that from 2005 till March 2018, 46 offset contracts signed with foreign vendors costed a total of Rs 66,427 crore.