HAL in talks for role in Rafale deal

BANGALORE (Reuters) - State-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) is actively talking to India's defence ministry for an assembly role in the Rafale combat jet contract that New Delhi is looking to sign, Chairman R.K Tyagi said.

India picked the Rafale combat jet, made by Dassault Aviation, for exclusive negotiations over a year ago after a hotly contested bidding war with rival manufacturers, but is still to finalize the 126-aircraft deal.

(Reporting by Ananthalakshmi Ananthsankar; Editing by Jeremy Laurence)