New Delhi: The Rafale deal negotiated by the NDA government was cheaper than the UPA offer, the Comptroller and Auditor General has observed.

The NDA deal was 2.86 per cent cheaper than the one negotiated by the UPA government, according to a CAG report tabled in Parliament on Wednesday.

What does CAG report say:

Unrealistic benchmark prices in original RFP:

Benchmark cost was 47% lower than the actual bid by the L1 vendor
This also led to the issue where man-hours required by HAL to manufacture in India were 2.7 times that suggested by Dassault, which led to a stall in negotiations then. Dassault also refused to take guarantee for planes manufactured at HAL.

RFP withdrawal:

The CNC recommended in 2015 that RFP be withdrawn for no resolution to the twin problems of man power costs and non-guarantee of aircrafts to be manufactured in India

Price:

The IGA turned out to be 2.86% cheaper than what the price could have been if old contract was signed

India specific enhancements turned out to be 17.08% cheaper what the price could have been if old contract was signed

Why this contract better:

In IGA, the buying government gets same benefits which vendor gives to its own government.

Faster delivery:

The delivery of planes would be faster by a month in the current IGA as compared to what the timelines could have been if old contract was signed.

DeshGujarat