Rafale papers stolen from ministry, dismiss review petitions, govt tells SC

Planning criminal action against newspapers who published details of defence deal, says government

Current Affairs: The documents, based on which details of alleged misdoings in the purchase of 36 Rafale fighter jets from France were published by newspapers, were stolen from the Ministry of Defence either by current or former employees of the ministry, the central government told the Supreme Court on Wednesday.

As these documents pertain to defence deals and are covered under the Official Secrets Act, the government is planning to take “criminal action” against the newspapers which published the stories and the petitioner who used it in his petition, Attorney General (AG) K K Venugopal told the court. Since the stories and petitions included top secret defence documents which were stolen, the top court should dismiss the review petitions, AG Venugopal said.

Also Read: Rafale deal: Time to lodge FIR against Modi for corruption, says Congress

The three-judge bench led by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, however, rejected this line of argument and sought to know that even if these documents were stolen but proved the point the petitioner was trying to raise, whether the court should consider it or not. It also sought to know if the central government could hide behind the argument of national security when there was a case of corruption…

Click here : Rafale files stolen

Rafale deal: Time to lodge FIR against Modi for corruption, says Congress

The Congress has claimed that the cost of 36 Rafale aircraft finalised by the Modi dispensation was higher than that negotiated by the previous UPA govt.

Current Affairs: The Congress Wednesday sought registration of an FIR against Prime Minister Narendra Modi for “corruption” in the Rafale fighter jet deal, with party president Rahul Gandhi claiming that there “is now enough evidence” to prosecute him.

Leading the party’s charge, Gandhi alleged “the trail of corruption” in the Rafale fighter jet deal “begins and ends with” Modi. He also alleged “destruction of evidence” and “obvious cover-up” after the government told the Supreme Court on Wednesday that crucial files pertaining to the fighter jet deal with French firm Dassault Aviation were “stolen” from the Defence Ministry.

“There is now enough evidence to prosecute the PM in the Rafale Scam. The trail of corruption begins & ends with him. That crucial Rafale files incriminating him are now reported ‘stolen’ by the Govt, is destruction of evidence & an obvious coverup,” he said on Twitter, using the hashtag “FIRagainstCorruptModi”.

The Congress chief’s attack came on a day the government said in the Supreme Court that documents related to the Rafale fighter jet deal have been stolen from the Defence Ministry and threatened The Hindu newspaper with action under the the Official Secrets Act for publishing articles based on them…..

Rahul should apologise, withdraw allegations on Rafale deal, says BJP

Rahul Gandhi also renewed the demand for a joint parliamentary committee to probe the Rafale deal

Politics News: Congress chief Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday cited a purported “dissent note” by some officials who negotiated the Rafale deal to assert that it demolished Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s claim of better pricing and faster delivery of the jets, and dismissed the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) report on the multi-billion pact as a “cover-up” that was “not worth the paper” it was written on.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) responded by demanding an apology from Rahul Gandhi, as the CAG had said in its report that the National Democratic Alliance deal was 2.86 per cent cheaper than the United Progressive Alliance one.

At a press conference, the Congress chief said even though he did not agree with the CAG’s submission, it still called the bluff of Modi, then Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who had told Parliament that the new deal was 9-20 per cent lower.

“The fact of the matter is that the new deal that… Modi signed gets India the aircraft later than the original deal,” Rahul Gandhi said. Hitting back, senior BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad said, said in view of the Supreme Court order and the CAG report, Rahul Gandhi should withdraw his allegations and tender an apology. “The BJP demands that Rahul apologise as the SC order and the CAG report on Rafale jet deal have exposed his lies,” he added.

Indigo crisis: India facing pilot shortage; 2,000 more needed this year

According to CAPA Research, the country has over 7,963 pilots and will require an additional 17,000 pilots in the next 10 years

Economy News: The cancellation of over 30 flights by IndiGo has bought the growing shortage of pilots to the fore, especially when airlines are expanding their fleet. According to industry estimates, more than 100 new planes will be added in the next 12 months, a bulk of which will come from IndiGo alone, currently adding nine planes every month. As a result, around 1,500-2,000 additional pilots will be required in 2018-19 to fly new aircraft and tide over the existing crisis in the cockpit.

Despite more flights in operation, the number of additional commanders being recruited is slowing down. Aviation industry estimates the number of additional commanders recruited by carriers fell by around 10 per cent in 2017-18 over 2016-17. This was despite domestic carriers scrambling for more expatriates to make up for the dwindling pool of qualified home-grown commanders. According to CAPA Research, the country has over 7,963 pilots and will require an additional 17,000 pilots in the next 10 years, of which 9,000 first officers will be upgraded to commanders.

IndiGo currently has 3,100 pilots on its payroll. The carrier constitutes for 38 per cent of pilots recruited by domestic airlines. It also has a domestic market share of 41 per cent and is planning an aggressive overseas flightpath. It has over 1,250 captains, which effectively constitutes for over 31 per cent of the 4,000 commanders in service.

According to an airline executive, the ballpark figure of five to six commanders and an equal number of co-pilots, or a total of 12 per aircraft, is needed. “It also takes four to five years for a pilot to become a commander,” he said….(Read More)

Modi govt’s Rafale fighter jet deal 2.86% cheaper than UPA’s: CAG report

The CAG report on Rafale fighter jet deal drew sharp political responses across parties

Economy News: The Narendra Modi government’s agreement with France to buy 36 Dassault Rafale combat aircraft was 2.86 per cent cheaper than the price negotiated by the previous United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government in its aborted attempt to buy 126 of these planes, according to the Comptroller and Auditor General of India’s report tabled in Parliament on Wednesday. Beyond that headline number, the report gave enough talking points to both the government and opposition parties to validate their respective positions.

While the report on capital acquisitions of the Indian Air Force came down heavily on the original 126 Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) deal, it also raised concern that Dassault or France did not offer any company or a sovereign guarantee for the latest government-to-government deal. And, that this will lead to savings for the French company and limit India’s legal remedies in a breach of contract.

The report drew sharp political responses. “It cannot be that the Supreme Court is wrong, the CAG is wrong and only the dynast is right… Satyameva Jayate – the truth shall prevail. The CAG report on Rafale reaffirms the dictum,” Union minister Arun Jaitley tweeted. “The lies of Mahajhootbandhan stand exposed by the CAG report. How does democracy punish those who consistently lied to the nation?”

Congress President Rahul Gandhi said the CAG report did not mention the dissent note by negotiators, and that the government’s argument on price and faster delivery of the Rafale had been demolished. The report states the Rafale jets would be delivered only one month faster than they would have if the original deal went through. “You say there was no scam, then why are you afraid of ordering a JPC?” he said, reiterating his demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee to look into the deal…

Read Full Story : Rafale Deal