 The Rafale deal that originally had a requirement for 126 aircraft was changed overnight to a requirement for only 36. Due to this simple change, the deal has attracted massive controversy and now all fingers point right at our own Prime Minister Modi. The total deal amounts to over 64,000 crores. The offset amount, that is, money that the French companies are required to invest in India is 50% of the total amount. A big chunk of this 50% has gone to Anil Ambani. Let us look at a few reasons why and understand how. The requirement for 126 fighter jets was put out by the Indian Air Force sometime in 2007 after having held field trials for all the prospective aircraft Rafale by Dassault was chosen. Of the 126 aircraft, 18 were to be supplied by Dassault in a flyaway condition and the remaining 108 were to be made in India by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited through transfer of technology. Till 2014 negotiations were still on, suddenly on April 10, 2015, while visiting Paris for a summit, Modi announced that India would be buying 36 Rafales outright in a flyaway condition and the earlier tender stood cancelled. The announcement immediately raised eyebrows. The main factors in the Rafale scam are 1. National security being compromised with 126 fighters being replaced by a mere 36. 2. Blatant violation of the defence procurement procedure. 3. Chrony capitalism involving the Anil Ambani-led reliance defence. And 4. Giving up on any prospects of indigenous manufacture by technology transfer from Dassault to HAL. Let's go through the developments before April 10, 2015, the day the controversy began that point themselves to the dubious nature of this deal. The chairman of HAL Subarna Raju and Dassault chairman and CEO Eric Trappier had held a public meeting. During this meeting Trappier stated that 95% of the deal has been finalised with HAL and that the final agreement will be signed soon. And on the other hand from HAL chairman that we are in agreement for the responsibilities sharing. I strongly believe that contract finalisation could come very soon. A few days later, Anil Ambani registered reliance defence limited. On the eve of PM Modi's departure, Foreign Secretary S. Jai Shankar at a press conference told the media that the original deal involving HAL is still on. 14 days after Modi's announcement, reliance aero structure limited was incorporated as a subsidiary company of the Reliance Defence Limited. This timeline leads to several concerns. Since most of those expected to be involved, including the Cabinet Committee on Security did not know of it, how was the decision taken to scrap the original tender? And by whom was Reliance Defence selected for the major offsets contract? Once the Indian Air Force provides its requirement, the categorisation committee recommends how this requirement will be met. Whether the requirement will be bought off the shelf or manufactured in India and so on. Finally the Defence Acquisition Council D.A.C. sets all the above resolutions in stone. What authority did Modi have to change the decisions by all these bodies? All indications are that the Prime Minister took this decision which was only ratified post facto and that no due process was followed. In trying to explain why the earlier tender was cancelled, said that the HAL did not have the required capability to make the Rafale. Let us allow facts to speak for themselves. In 1965 during the India-Pakistan war, India was flying the HAL manufactured Ajeet fighter aircraft. The Ajeet went on to win a claim by outperforming US made fighters that Pakistan was flying as acknowledged even today by Pakistani Defence Services. Several other fighter aircraft and helicopters have been made by the HAL that have proved durable and reliable. Defence manufacture was a big pillar of PM Modi's Make in India policy. On the one hand, we have to increase the manufacturing growth. At the same time, the direct benefit of that is that the new generation of India gets a job so that they can change the poverty of poor families in an arctic situation. This is the line of strife in Make in India. The offsets contract could have been used for a significant amount of technology absorption by firms in India. Instead, a big chunk out of this 50% went to a company that till 12 days before the announcement in Paris did not have land, manpower or the money to build a single aircraft. But what are offsets? The DPP has an offset clause. This clause was introduced as a means whereby a part of the total cost would be reinvested in India and in the process advanced technologies could be acquired by Indian firms. Although the Defence Minister has stated that the salt was free to choose an offset partner, it's intriguing that the salt would choose to join hands with the company that at the time existed only on paper. Was there an extraneous factor involved? Why then suddenly was the decision made to scrap the original 126 requirement and ask for 36 aircraft? Experts say that the original deal was dumped because it involved a Defence PSU HAL which was a production agent, leaving no score for profits through offsets. To involve a third party that could profit through offsets, a new deal would have had to be made. To rub salt into the wounds, a fresh request has been issued for 110 fighter aircraft. If this, many were required, why cancel the original tender? And if only 36 were required, why order another 110? With new skeletons falling out of the closet every day, the country still awaits an answer as to who is responsible for putting our national security at risk.