India to start negotiations with France on Rafale jets this month
Panaji, May 04 (ANI): India and France will start negotiations on Rafale jets this month after Prime Minister Narendra Modi signed a deal in Paris last month, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said on Monday. Last month, Modi had ordered 36 "ready-to-fly" French-made Rafale fighter jets to modernise his country's ageing warplane fleet as neighbouring states upgraded their military hardware. With French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian's visit to India expected to be on May 6, Parrikar made the much awaited announcement. Parrikar said while a government-to-government committee was set up to smoothen the process, he said that both Drian and he would not be in direct talks.
