A qualified success

Absence of mega-defence deals dims the optics

With a banquet at Louvre, a Legion d’honneur award, and the Punjab Regiment marching down the Champs Elysees to the strains of Sare Jahan Se Achchha on Bastille Day, the optics of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s two-day visit to France last week were superb. In terms of hard gains, however, the brilliance of the occasion was dimmed by the absence of a widely anticipated announcement on 26 Rafale Navy jets and three Scorpene submarines. Both proposals, together worth a mammoth Rs 80,000 crore, had been cleared by the Defence Acquisition Council, headed by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, a day ahead