Rafale induction ceremony cost exchequer over ₹41 lakh says Defence Minister Rajnath Singh

On Monday, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in Rajya Sabha said the induction ceremony of the first five Rafale jets at the Ambala Air Force base on September 10 the last cost the exchequer a little over of 41 lakh including 9.18 lakh GST.

“The first five Rafale aircraft of IAF were formally inducted into IAF on September 10. The arrangements for this event were made mostly through local resources of IAF. The total expenditure on the event was 41.32 lakh including 9.18 lakh of GST,” he said.

Singh said all-new variant of aircraft are traditionally inducted into the Indian Air Force through a “befitting ceremony”

French Defence Minister Florence Parly and the top echelon of the French aerospace major Dassault Aviation, the manufacturer of the aircraft also attended the Rafale induction ceremony.

The first batch of the five Rafale jets arrived in India on July 29. India signed an inter-governmental agreement with France to procure 36 of the aircraft at a cost of 59,000 crore.

The second batch of three Rafale jets arrived in India on November 3 while the third batch of another three jets joined the IAF on January 27.

The fleet has been carrying out sorties in eastern Ladakh where Indian and Chinese troops have been engaged in a standoff for the last nine months.

The first squadron of the Rafale jets is stationed at the Ambala airbase while the second one will be based at the Hasimara base in West Bengal.