Kochi: In a major decision, the centre cleared a Rs 3.25 lakh crore proposal on Thursday to induct 114 additional fighter jets into the Indian Air Force (IAF), the Economic Times reported.
The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh gave Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) to the programme.
The proposal was approved by the Defence Procurement Board.
India will procure 114 Rafale aircraft, with 18 jets fully operational and the remaining to be manufactured domestically.
About 90 aircraft are expected to be built in India under the Make in India initiative.
The deal will help the country to increase Rafale fleet to 176 aircraft, including the 36 Rafales already in service with the Indian Air Force and the 26 Rafale-M jets ordered by the Navy for carrier operations.
The IAF is slated to induct 88 single-seat and 26 twin-seat variants under the programme. Local production will be carried out through collaboration between French aerospace major Dassault Aviation and Indian private sector companies.
