The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), on Wednesday, released its report in the Rafale jet procurement .
CAG made the following points about the pricing of the Rafale jets :
- The price of aircraft as estimated by audit is 2.86 per cent lower than the original price.
- The cost of India-specific enhancement is 17.08 per cent lower.
- There is no price change in cost of flyaway aircraft.
- There is a cost escalation by 6.54 per cent in both engineering support package and performance based logistics.
- The cost of training pilots and technicians is 2.68 per cent higher.
The CAG made the following observations about the defence procurement process:
- The CAG examined prices but it has been redacted in the report on the insistence of the Ministry of Defence
- Indian Air Force did not define its qualitative requirements for the procurement, thus creating difficulties during technical and price evaluation
- The model used for calculating the ‘Life Cycle Cost’ of the acquisitions had several deficiencies and needs to be improved further
- The current capital acquisition system is unlikely to effectively support the Indian Air Force in its operational preparedness
- The present ‘Lowest Price Technical Acceptable’ method of bid evaluation needs reconsideration