Reliance says Rafale contract received from Dassault, not Defence Ministry

Caught in a political storm over the Rafale fighter aircraft deal, billionaire Anil Ambani's Reliance Group today denied receiving any contract from the Defence Ministry and said "unfounded and incorrect" allegations are being deliberately made to "mislead people and cloud the issue."
Reliance Defence Ltd CEO Rajesh Dhingra said the government-to-government deal requires all 36 aircraft to be delivered in a 'fly-away' condition which means "they are to be exported from France by Dassault" and "HAL or anyone else cannot be the production agency for the simple reason that no aircraft are to be produced in India."
On allegations of the firm getting the contract because of Ambani's reported proximity with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he said: "As per Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP), the Ministry of Defence has no role in the selection of Indian partners by the foreign vendors. This has been the position right from 2005 when offsets were first introduced in the country."

In the more than 50 offset (export obligations) contracts signed in the country till date, the same process has been followed, he said. "Therefore, this is a deliberate attempt to mislead people and cloud the issue."
He termed as "absolutely wrong" allegation of Reliance benefiting with a Rs 30,000 crore contract, saying "Dassault's share of offsets is about 25 per cent, with the remaining offset obligations being shared by Thales, Safran, MBDA and others."