Rafale Deal: Dassault Aviation releases statement after Hollande's interview | Read complete statement here

In a shocking twist in the Rafale fighter jet deal between India and France that has become centre to various debates and discussions, Dassault Aviation, which is manufacturing the Rafale jet owing to an 'offset clause' is authorised to select an Indian firm from where they have to acquire 50 per cent of the contract value to pump local manufacturing. Now, Dassault Aviation has released a statement after Francois Hollande's interview was quoted by a French publication.

The manufacturer of the Rafale jet - Dassault Aviation - is authorised to choose an Indian partner of its choice and the government had no role to play in the ‘offset clause,’ according to Defence Ministry.

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Former French president Francois Hollande's interview was published by French publication as he was quoted as saying that the Indian government had proposed Reliance Defence as Dassault Aviation's partner in the Rafale jet deal and France didn't have any choice but to accept the proposal.

However, Dassault Aviation have now released a statement in counter to former French president Francois Hollande’s interview that was published in a French publication.

Here is the full statement by Dassault Aviation:

About the Rafale contract for India

2018/09/21

Dassault Aviation provides the following clarifications regarding the contract signed in 2016 for 36 Rafale aircraft to India...

(Saint-Cloud, France September 21, 2018) - Dassault Aviation provides the following clarifications regarding the contract signed in 2016 for 36 Rafale aircraft to India:

This contract is a government-to-government agreement. It provides for a separate contract in which Dassault Aviation commits to make compensation investments (offsets) in India worth 50% of the value of the purchase.

This offsets contract is delivered in compliance with the Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP) 2016 regulations. In this framework, and in accordance with the policy of Make in India, Dassault Aviation has decided to make a partnership with India's Reliance Group. This is Dassault Aviation's choice, as CEO Eric Trappier had explained in an interview published in MINT newspaper on April 17, 2018. This partnership has led to the creation of the Dassault Reliance Aerospace Ltd (DRAL) joint-venture in February 2017. Dassault Aviation and Reliance have built a plant in Nagpur for manufacturing parts for Falcon and Rafale aircraft. The Nagpur site was chosen because of the availability of land with direct access to an airport runway, an essential condition of aeronautic activities.

Other partnerships have been signed with other companies such as BTSL, DEFSYS, Kinetic, Mahindra, Maini, SAMTEL,... Other negotiations are ongoing with a hundred-odd other potential partners.

Dassault Aviation is very proud that the Indian authorities have selected the Rafale fighter.