India Penalises European Missile Maker For Late Delivery
A penalty of one million euros has been imposed on European Missile Maker MBDA for offset delays in the Rafale aircraft deal. The penalty has been imposed on European missile maker for delays in fulfilling its commitments in the deal signed between India and France to procure 36 aircraft at a cost of Rs 59,000 crore. As per the sources, the main cause for imposing and collection of the penalty has been initiated to tighten screws on defaulting armament majors. MBDA is a weapon’s package supplier for the Rafale jets manufactured by Dassault Aviation in the inter-governmental agreement inked by India in September 2016. On one hand, India has signed the inter-governmental agreement with France and supply protocols for the fighters and weapons; and on the other, a major offsets contract with Dassault and a smaller one with MBDA. As agreed, half of the contract value (around Rs 30,000 crore) has to be ploughed back to India as offsets or re-investments, spread over seven years from the date...