CAG says a defence ministry panel report stated in March 2015 that Dassault was not L1 in the original bidding process for 126 jets, and so a contract could not be signed with it.
A CAG report points out the Letter of Comfort means India will have to settle a breach of agreement first through arbitration with French vendors and not the government.
The Comptroller and Auditor General will be tabling a report that looks at similar deals struck between 2012 and 2017 by IAF, as well as other offers that competed with Dassault’s Rafale offer.
The CAG report on Rafale made headlines in December 2018 after 'grammatical errors' in the Centre's affidavit suggested it had been examined by the PAC.
While the commission didn’t mention provisions under which IndiGo's market domination would be examined, Competition Act 2002 prohibits abuse of dominant position by any enterprise.
It is argued that India-Israel ties are moving from buyer–seller dynamic to one focused on joint development & manufacturing partnership, a shift 'more durable' than traditional arms sales.
Don’t blame misfortune. This is colossal incompetence and insensitivity. So bad, heads would have rolled even in the old PSU-era Indian Airlines and Air India.
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