NEW DELHI: In a relief to the government ahead of Lok Sabha polls, the much-awaited Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has found that the deal signed by the NDA regime in 2016 for 36 fighter jets was 2.86 per cent lower than the price negotiated by the UPA for 126 aircraft but felt that the present capital acquisition system is unlikely to effectively support the IAF.
Without going into the controversial offset clause of the Medium Multi Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) deal, the report examined the pricing but did not disclose the actual price of the 36 Rafale fighter jets contracted by the NDA government. The prices have been redacted in the audit report based on the insistence of the Defence Ministry citing the Indo-French agreement of 2008 and the provisions of Inter-Government Agreement (IGA).
The Rafale deal is believed to be of the order of Rs 59,000 crore.
Against the backdrop of the Congress and other opposition parties attacking the government accusing it of corruption in the Rafale deal, the relief from the CAG comes on top of the Supreme Court clean cheat given last year. (IANS)
