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Another dimension evolving in French - India relations @Vergennes
economictimes.indiatimes.com
How a Frenchman sitting in Paris transformed Wipro
Its still too early to say whether Wipro CEO Thierry Delaportes first-year success will sustain. If it does, it would be a case study in how a new CEO transformed a company of 2.2 lakh employees, sitting remotely in Paris in 15 months.
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HaZZan
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The Government of India, on September 23, 2016, inked a deal with the French government and Dassault Aviation to procure 36 Rafale jets. This deal was preceded by a failed effort to procure 126 Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) during the UPA regime.
French Investigative journal Mediapart has now made fresh claims that "bogus invoices" were used by French aircraft maker Dassault Aviation to pay at least 7.5 million euros (over Rs 64 crore) to a "middleman" to help it secure the procurement deal with India.
The alleged 'kickbacks' were paid to the "middleman" in Mauritius between 2007 and 2012, Mediapart reported. It is important to note that the Congress-led UPA was in power from 2004 to 2014.
In April 2015, PM Modi announced the Government of India's decision to buy 36 Rafale fighter jets. This was a year after the Ministry of Defence (MoD) withdrew the 126 aircraft deal signed between Dassault Aviation and Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL).
A bench of the Supreme Court led by the then Chief Justice of India (CJI) Ranjan Gogoi took up petitions challenging the procurement of Rafale aircraft in 2018 and found no impropriety. In 2019, the Apex court reserved its order on pleas filed against its 2018 judgement in the Rafale case.
However, the French appointed a judge in July of this year to lead a "highly sensitive" judicial probe into alleged "corruption and favouritism" in the Rs 59,000 crore Rafale fighter jet deal with India.
Here are 5 latest developments in the Rafale row:
1. Reacting to the Mediapart report, BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said on Tuesday that the Indian National Congress, the initials of which are "INC", should be referred to as the "I Need Commission".2.Patra said that 10 Janpath, the official residence of Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, was the "address of corruption" until the NDA came to power in 2014. He also added that Sushen Mohan Gupta, the alleged middleman, is already in the custody of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with a corruption case.
3. Earlier in the day, Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera held a press conference where he demanded a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe into the Rafale deal. Khera accused the ruling BJP of trying to "cover-up" corruption in the procurement deal inked during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's first tenure.
4.Rahul Gandhi, who is not in the country at the moment, said in a tweet on Tuesday, "When the truth is with you in every step, then what is there to worry about? My Congress colleagues - keep fighting like this against the corrupt central government. Don't stop, don't get tired, don't be afraid," Gandhi said in a tweet in Hindi, using the hashtag "#RafaleScam".
5. Neither the Ministry of Defence (MoD) nor Dassault Aviation has reacted to Mediapart's findings.
https://www.indiatoday.in/india/sto...an-corruption-congress-bjp-1874944-2021-11-09
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No foreign weapons system would be inducted into IA or IAF without kickbacks...it's quite obvious a deal of this size with the length of negotiations that went on would mean several different parties were involved and not just IAF/MoD top brass
The $8.5mn quoted in the article is pretty meagre and must've been the kickbacks offered pre-selection. If the actual MMRCA deal for 126 Rafales went thru, the kickbacks would've been a lot higher
The $8.5mn quoted in the article is pretty meagre and must've been the kickbacks offered pre-selection. If the actual MMRCA deal for 126 Rafales went thru, the kickbacks would've been a lot higher
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French destroyer FNS Chevalier Paul docks at Mumbai after naval exercise with Indian forces
France has deployed the Horizon-class air defence destroyer FNS Chevalier Paul in the Indian Ocean as part of France’s permanent military presence in the region. The French government said the destroyer is making a port call at Mumbai currently and will later sail to Kochi as part of...
www.wionews.com
France has deployed the Horizon-class air defence destroyer FNS Chevalier Paul in the Indian Ocean as part of France’s permanent military presence in the region.
The French government said the destroyer is making a port call at Mumbai currently and will later sail to Kochi as part of Indo-French naval cooperation.
Captain Antoine Vibert, commanding officer of the Chevalier Paul, told WION that a multi-role destroyer specialises in air defence. It protects high-value units from any threat.
The principal mission of the destroyer is the "escort and protection" of a Carrier Strike Group. It can also be deployed for a variety of other tasks. The destroyer has a crew of 215 with 15 per cent being women.
Vibert added that France always deploys one frigate or a destroyer in the Indian Ocean while adding that France has many strategic interests in the Indian Ocean and it wants to protect them.
In April, India and France had held the “Varuna” bilateral exercise with military drills taking place in the Arabian Sea. The French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle had taken place in the exercise.
India had also taken place in the French-led “La Pérouse” naval exercise which included navies from Australia, US and Japan.
The destroyer Chevalier Paul had taken part in Indo-French air and naval exercise off the coast of Maharashtra. Indian and French forces had deployed aircraft including the Mirage 2000 and Rafale jets as both sides pitted pilots against each other in complex air attacks and defence scenarios.
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IAF gets two Mirage 2000 fighters from France to strengthen combat aircraft fleet
The two aircraft were acquired by the Indian Air Force as part of the programme to make up the number of aircraft in the Mirage fighter fleet to around 50.
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India fines French firm Dassault Aviation over offset delays
The Indian government imposed a fine on French company Dassault Aviation last month over delays in offset obligations that were part of a 2016 deal for 36 Rafale fighters, Defense News has learned.
www.defensenews.com
NEW DELHI — The Indian government imposed a fine on French company Dassault Aviation last month over delays in offset obligations that were part of a 2016 deal for 36 Rafale fighters, Defense News has learned.
The French and Indian governments signed the €7.8 billion (U.S. $8.8 billion) contract in September 2016. Under the arrangement, 50% of the contract value was to be offset and executed by Dassault Aviation and its partners Safran and Thales in seven years’ time.
To implement the offsets, the three firms teamed with more than 70 Indian companies and the Defence Research and Development Organisation. A senior defense scientist in India said DRDO is seeking from French businesses several technologies related to stealth capabilities, radar, aerospace engines, thrust vectoring for missiles, and materials for electronics.
An Indian Ministry of Defence official told Defense News that the penalty will come from the €185 million bank guarantee funded by Dassault Aviation as a safeguard against contractual violations. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to speak to the media.
The official would not share the value of the penalty imposed on Dassault Aviation, nor would the individual detail problems hindering implementation of the offset obligations.
Under MoD policy, original equipment manufacturers can discharge offsets by purchasing related goods or services from Indian suppliers, by making a foreign direct investment in India’s defense industry, or by transferring advanced technology.
When asked for comment, the French Armed Forces Ministry referred Defense News to Dassault Aviation, which did not return requests for comment.
French Armed Forces Minister Florence Parly and Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh met Dec. 17 to discuss ways to increase bilateral defense cooperation. During the 3rd annual dialogue, the MoD pointed out that several French defense companies were not cooperating in the transfer of technology to DRDO.
The MoD source said French businesses have been claiming the Indian firms who were expecting to receive technology transfers do not meet the necessary core competencies.
“It is well known that the original equipment manufacturers have been facing difficulty in discharging their offset obligations. This may partly be on account of the policy,” said Amit Cowshish, a former financial adviser for acquisitions at the MoD.
He recommended the ministry meet with OEMs, ascertain difficulties their facing and then take corrective action.
Vivienne Machi in Stuttgart, Germany, contributed to this report.
Levina
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Indian Government has been serving warnings to different international websites for not posting the correct picture of Indian map. Amid the controversies India's ally France has come forward with a map which shows undivided Kashmir... or that which is not shared with Pakistan.
French Defence Minister's tweet was posted in context of UAE. Florence Parly confirmed that France will now be supporting UAE militarily.
In December last year, President Macron was in UAE to sign the largest-ever #Defence deal, sale of 80 #Rafale jets was part of the deal.
On Friday, activation of this partnership was confirmed.
The map shows France's assets in UAE which will help UAE counter houthis.
India-France- UAE share a deep strategic bond which reflects in the tweet of the French defence minister.
@Nilgiri @T-123456
M
Its amazing how billions of dollars of defense deals can bring people together...
Levina
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It's called friendship!Its amazing how billions of dollars of defense deals can bring people together...
Levina
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Other "civilized" nations--- you're right! lol
RogerRanger
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Just waiting for the Chinese to post the opposite map.
Levina
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Why do Pakistanis always expect China to come to their rescue?
RogerRanger
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I don't know. They are in a one sided alliance, where they buy stuff from China, China controls their infrastructure and ports, so I don't get it myself. I guess its like Britain's relationship with the USA, we keep expecting and they keep not showing up.Why do Pakistanis always expect China to come to their rescue?
