Over $30 Bln in Defence Deals May See Light of Day After PM Modi’s Win - Analyst

Having come out victorious, despite corruption charges levelled by opposition parties in the Rafale fighter jet deal, the Narendra Modi-led government may now find it much easier to sign defence contracts during its second term, observes defence procurement analyst and ex-financial adviser to the Defence Ministry Amit Cowshish.

New Delhi (Sputnik): Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi levelled serious allegations of favouritism and financial irregularities in the $8.7 billion Rafale fighter jet deal signed by Prime Minister Modi in 2016 with France under the government-to-government contract. But Modi's landslide win will give confidence to his government to make quicker decisions related to defence procurement, opines a defence procurement analyst. 

READ MORE: Rafale Jet Deal Features in Election Manifesto of India's Main Opposition Party

"It (election victory) reinforces the confidence of the government to go for government-to-government deals in the future subject to availability of money", Amit Cowshish stated regarding the prospect of signing defence contracts crucial for the armed forces in near future.

Rahul Gandhi coined special slogan with the aim of connecting to voters and winning their support, which failed.

"It was only a perception in certain sections that creating controversy related to Rafale deals can win votes", Cowshish, who has spent over 35 years in various capacities in the Defence Ministry, including as financial adviser, said.

Many analysts had claimed that the government put defence preparedness on the back burner as a result of the controversy over the purchase of Rafale fighter aircraft.

READ MORE: Ex-IAF Chief: Rafales Could Have Downed Half of Pakistan's Jets in Dogfight

But, as election results on Thursday clearly showed, the Rafale jet controversy did not have any adverse impact on Modi. Deals include those such as the purchase of 110 fighter jets for the Indian Air Force worth around $15 billion, a $7 billion deal for 57 fighter jets for the Indian Navy, a $6 billion purchase of six conventional submarines, and army equipment such as armoured vehicles may witness faster approval in the second term of Narendra Modi, Cowshish added. 

The Modi government in its second term may also expedite the process of tendering to the number of defence projects worth $47 billion, which received acceptance of necessity in the last three years. However, as of now, most of these approvals could not reach the stage of issuing a tender.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the speaker and do not necessarily reflect Sputnik's position.