Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Wednesday said the Contract Negotiation Committee (CNC) is expected to give its final report on acquisition of French fighter plane Rafale either by the end of February or early March. The decision was not dragged by the Central government.
"I have asked for the report. Until the detailed report is given, I will not be able to comment on the multi-billion dollar aircraft acquisition deal," Parrikar said.
When asked about the three-year delay, he said the National Democratic Alliance government had come to power only 10 months ago. "I have asked the CNC to speed up the process of completion of the report. The report is inevitable for the government to make final decision on the deal, he said.
"We are determined to strengthen our defence forces. But, we will also focus on maximising the use of the current availability of war planes. This is also important," he said.
He further added that there was no delay in the finalisation of the deal.
