CAG Report On Defence Offset in Next Parliament Session: FM

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will be addressing a press conference at 4 pm on Saturday, 16 May.

(Photo: PTI/Altered by The Quint)

The report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) on defence offset performance will be tabled in the upcoming session of the parliament, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Saturday, 22 August, in a series of tweets.

This report was scheduled to be tabled in the budget session 2020, but it was postponed after the session was cut short following the outbreak of coronavirus pandemic.

Last month, the five Rafale fighter jets touched down at Haryana’s Ambala after covering a distance of nearly 7,000 km to join the IAF.

“There is a year-wise phasing of how much offset obligation the companies/OEMs have to fulfil. MoD informs me that claims of such obligations being fulfilled are coming in,” Sitharaman added.

Meanwhile, PTI reported that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday made a fresh attack on the government over the Rafale fighter aircraft deal. He claimed that the CAG has submitted its performance audit on defence offset contracts to the government with no mention of any offset deals related to the purchase of Rafale aircraft.