‘Raise India-made component’: Rajnath Singh seeks up to 50 per cent local content in Rafale deal

India on Tuesday pressed France to increase local manufacturing content in the proposed purchase of 114 Rafale fighter jets, with Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh raising the issue during talks with his French counterpart, Catherine Vautrin, in Bengaluru. The request was made during the 6th India-France Annual Defence Dialogue, defence sources told the Times of India.

Rajnath asked Vautrin “to raise India-made component” in the upcoming deal for 114 Rafale fighter jets “up to 50%”, defence sources said. He also urged her to “try to ensure that engines of the (fighter) planes are made and overhauled in India. This will help our ‘Make-in-India’ effort,” one source said.

The ministers reviewed a wide range of bilateral security and defence matters, including priority areas for co-development and co-production of defence equipment. India and France renewed their defence cooperation agreement for another 10 years, announced reciprocal deployment of army officers and signed a memorandum of understanding to manufacture Hammer missiles in India.

The MoU provides for the manufacturing of Hammer missiles under a joint venture between defence PSU Bharat Electronics Limited and French major Safran.

Helicopter assembly line inaugurated

Earlier in the day, Rajnath and Vautrin attended the inauguration of the H125 Light Utility Helicopter final assembly line at Vemagal in Karnataka. The facility has been jointly established by Tata Advanced Systems Ltd and Airbus. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron virtually inaugurated the unit from Mumbai.

After the inauguration, Modi said, “We take pride in the fact that, together, India and France will manufacture in India the world’s only helicopter capable of flying to the heights of Mount Everest and export it to the entire world.”

The first ‘Made in India’ H125 is expected to be delivered in early 2027. The helicopter is intended to meet the requirements of the Indian armed forces for a light multi-role platform and support army operations in the Himalayan region.

Rajnath said the total investment in the H125 project is expected to exceed Rs 1,000 crore and generate direct and indirect employment.

Expanding defence partnership

In the presence of Modi in Mumbai, Macron said, “From Rafale jets to submarines, we are expanding defence cooperation. India and France are also working together to build helicopter assembly line and fifth-gen fighter jet engines.”

His remarks came days after the Rajnath-led Defence Acquisition Council cleared the purchase of 114 Rafale jets from France.

Cost negotiations for the Rafale deal are expected to gain momentum following Tuesday’s meeting between Modi and Macron. The agreement will be signed after Cabinet clearance.

India may also acquire additional Scorpene-class conventional submarines from France. It has already inducted six Scorpene-class submarines, known as the Kalvari class, from France.

The French defence minister also welcomed the decision to convert Exercise Shakti with the Army from a biennial to an annual exercise.