NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India is only likely to complete a $15 billion deal with France's Dassault Aviation to buy 126 fighter jets in the next fiscal year, its defence minister said on Thursday.
"Major procurement can only be possible in the next financial year," A.K. Antony said at a defence sector trade fair.
As of February 1, Antony said, the country has already spent 92 percent of its defence capital budget for the current fiscal year that ends in March.
Dassault Aviation's chief executive Eric Trappier said in December that he was optimistic about finalising the fighter jet deal within a few months, though he was unsure whether it would be sealed before or after the national elections in India, which must completed by May.
(Reporting by Sanjeev Miglani; Writing by Shyamantha Asokan; editing by Malini Menon)