The government filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court on 14 November 2018 saying that Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) “required 2.7 times higher man-hours compared to the French side for the manufacture of Rafale aircraft in India”. It also said that Dassault Aviation and HAL lacked a common understanding, because of which the offset contract could not be concluded between the two companies.

But if all this is true, then why did the manufacturing company of Rafale’s aircraft engine, Snecma (Safran), sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with HAL in January 2015, just four months before Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced purchase of 36 Rafale jets from Dassault on 10 April 2015.

Safran group is a part of a joint venture named Rafale International, with Dassault Aviation and Thales to promote Rafale fighter aircraft to international customers.