Republic Accesses CAG Rafale report: NDA deal 2.86% cheaper than UPA's non-deal

Republic TV on Wednesday accessed the full Comptroller and Auditor General report on the Rafale deal. The report, which is to be tabled in Parliament, is titled Performance Audit Report of the CAG on Capital Acquisition in Indian Air Force.

From page 126 onwards, the report deals solely with the India-France deal to procure 36 Rafale aircraft in a flyaway condition. The highlight of the report with respect to the ongoing political storm on whose price - the UPA's negotiated non-deal price or the current NDA government's sealed-deal price - is cheaper, is the CAG concluding on pages 136 and 137 that the May 2015 price (NDA) is 2.86% less than the 2007 (UPA) price as aligned with 2015 prices. The specifics of the pricing are redacted.:

As per the table, here's a break-up of which components of the deal are cheaper for the NDA and which was cheaper in the UPA's price:

a) Flyaway Aircraft Package: No variation

b) Services, Products - Operational Support Equipment (OSE) & Technical Assitance, documentation, Programme management - NDA deal 4.77% cheaper

c) India Specific Enhancement - NDA deal 17.08% cheaper

d) Standards of preparation - No variation

e) Engineering Support Package - NDA deal 6.54% more expensive

f) Performance based logistics - NDA deal 6.54% more expensive

g) Tools, Testers & Ground Equipment (TTGE) - NDA deal 0.15% more expensive

h) Weapons Package - NDA deal 1.05% cheaper

i) Role Equipment - No variation

j) Simulator & Simulator Training Aids Annual Maintainence - No variation

Each of the above line-items have been spoken of in detail within the report.

The methodology for comparing the prices between 2007 and 2015 also has a sub-section dedicated to it:

The 141-page report, as such, deals with a long list of acquisitions and comes to the Rafale deal at page 126. 

The first page of the Rafale section of the report goes into the headline details of the deal:

The sections on Rafale also address a number of specific topics, including the matter of Sovereign guarantee:

The Rafale multi-role fighter deal between India and France has become a burning political point ahead of the 2019 elections, with Congress president Rahul Gandhi virtually going on a crusade to allege that the deal entails a 'scam'. His allegations are nebulous and repetitive, ranging from the PM's direct involvement in the deal, to the UPA versus NDA pricing, to Anil Ambani's Reliance group winning an offset partner contract for the deal. He has thus far failed to prove any of his charges, even as numerous debates have been held, both inside and outside Parliament. Most importantly, the Supreme Court has given the process followed in the Rafale deal an all-clear. 

In its quest to highlight a Rafale 'scam', the Congress has already carried out a slander campaign against the CAG, with Rahul Gandhi calling it the 'Chowkidaar Auditor General'. However, the Congress president's credibility has taken a major beating over the last few days as he first used a doctored MoD 'dissent note' to make an attack, and then used a leaked email regarding an Airbus-Helicopter project to make an attack over Dassault-Rafale.

READ | Your Letter Is About Helicopters Not Jet Fighters: Anil Ambani's Reliance Accuses Rahul Gandhi Of Ignoring Reality After Latest Rafale Crusade