Reliance ‘Part of Make in India’ Policy: Documents from Dassault

The document suggests that the Reliance joint venture was unavoidable consequence of the contract & Make in India.

French Dassault Rafale showing its capabilities during the rehearsals for Aero India 2015.

(Photo Courtesy: Twitter/ @SpokespersonMoD)

Documents from a 2017 meeting of Dassault Aviation trade unions and its senior official, Loik Segalen, have suggested that the joint venture with Reliance was “an unavoidable consequence of the Rafale India contract” and the “Make in India” policy, The Indian Express reported.

Reliance Defense’s venture with France’s Dassault Aviation has been caught in a controversy since former French president Fracois Hollande said the appointment of Anil Ambani-owned Reliance was a part of a ‘new formula’ by the Indian government.

A set of documents put out by Yves Pagot, a French defense official, support the claim, The Indian Express reported. Pagot posted the documents on French website Portail-Aviation in his personal capacity, refusing to draw any conclusions.

Pagot said these documents are the ‘union summary of a meeting’, showing the effects of the ‘offsets’ imposed on the defense contract and the Make in India policy.

One of the documents from Pagot was also referred to in a Mediapart report last Wednesday that said the joint venture with Reliance was a trade-off for bagging the Rafale deal.

“It was urgent (imperative) and vital (obligatory) for Dassault Aviation to secure this partnership [with Reliance] to obtain the export contract for RAFALE India,” the document was quoted by The Indian Express, noting what Segalen told the Dassault union on 11 May 2017.

The second document also has a more detailed briefing by Segalen.

Titled ‘A new undertaking Dassault Reliance limited (DRAL)‘, it says “its an unavoidable consequence of the Rafale India contract which insisted on ‘Make in India’ clauses in order to be signed”.

The note under the document says, “A joint venture has been created with the Indian company Reliance to achieve this objective. Dassault Aviation will hold stakes of 49 percent and Reliance a majority of 51 percent. The co-drivers are none other than the CEOs of the two companies, Mr Trappier and Mr Anil Dhirubhai Ambani and, in the event of the team being headed by an Indian (Managing) Director, then his counterpart will be the Chief Accountant /Head of Industrial Operations), Mr Jean Robert Luc (formerly head of the company, Biarritz).”

The Indian Express report adds that according to the note in the document, “the site, is in Nagpur…. An initial building site of 1,800 metres, followed by a second of 11,000 metres, is planned. Mr Luc has been delegated to undertake an industrial plan in 5 stages, spread out over 5 years, each stage approved before commencing the next.”

The note also says the start of operations was scheduled for the end of 2017 and by 2022, Falcon 2000 will be in production. “One way of contributing towards lowering the cost of production, while respecting the agreed terms, would involve industrial compensation at 50 percent of volume of Rafale orders,” the document states.