The long-pending jet fighter deal is likely to be approved soon by the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) even as the government has finalized the "finer" details for buying 36 fighter jets manufactured by Dassault Aviation.

"Finer points of the contract are being worked out. The deal has reached final stages. It should be approved by the CCS soon," a top Defence Ministry official told BusinessLine.

Apparently, the price of the deal has been reduced to $1 billion from what was originally decided at around $8 billion that consists purchase of 36 multi-role medium range combat aircraft (MMRCA). The deal had reached the final leg when the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) met last month after an internal negotiating committee gave its report on the modalities of the deal, sources said.

Post this, the report of the deal was sent to the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) for the final go-ahead. The PMO had sought clarification from the Defence Ministry on some of the crucial elements like the pricing of each aircraft and life-cycle costs Although the jets will be procured in fly-away condition, it will have a 50 per cent offset clause. Under this, inputs half of the value of the contract will be sourced locally.

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar had said last month that the details include transfer of technology through offsets. He said the aircraft will include advanced electronically scanned array radar, mid-air refueling provisions and latest combat capabilities.

The deal was signed in January this year when French President Francois Hollande visited India, following Prime Minister Narendra Modi's commitment to buy the aircraft in April 2015. The original plan, as was committed under the former United Progressive Alliance, was to buy 126 planes.

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