After CVC red-flag, India cancels chopper deal, France and Germany both protest

Within hours of India deciding to re-tender the $600 million deal for supply of 197 light helicopters to the Army...

Within hours of India deciding to re-tender the $600 million deal for supply of 197 light helicopters to the Army, France turned on the heat through diplomatic channels and immediately registered a protest against the decision as Eurocopter had been selected after technical trials.

It’s learnt that Indian Ambassador to France, Ranjan Mathai, was called to the French foreign office to convey the protest. Sources said Paris feels it was not fair to scrap the bid, especially after Eurocopter had been cooperative in the trials.

Diplomatic reverberations, sources said, were also felt in Germany where authorities had got in touch with the Indian Embassy in Berlin on the issue. Eurocopter, which was originally a French company is now spread across major countries in Europe.

The Indian Express had earlier reported that the deal was set to be called off on the recommendation of the Central Vigilance Committee (CVC),

While India did have valid reasons to go for a fresh tender, political motives are being ascribed as the US-based Bell helicopter was the other key contender. A re-tender, sources said, would provide another chance for Bell and the Russian Kamov choppers to qualify.

Earlier in the day, the Defence Ministry scrapped Eurocopter’s selection for the contract after “glaring discrepancies” emerged in the selection process. The contract was meant to replace the Army’s aging fleet of Cheetah and Chetak helicopters.

An official statement issued by the Ministry said that the procurement process has been cancelled and “fresh tenders for the same will be issued shortly.”

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Two reports in The Indian Express — on July 8 and 19 — had said the deal was under scrutiny after the only other contender, Bell Helicopters, was disqualified on flimsy technical grounds by the Army during the field trials. The reports had also pointed out that the Ministry was investigating allegations of a middleman in the deal.

Ministry officials confirmed that investigations revealed “major deviations from the approved parameters in terms of both engines and platforms” by Eurocopter during the trials.

The Ministry felt that the field trials were “vitiated” by the fact that Eurocopter had offered its ‘AS 550 C3 model with an ARRIEL 2B engine’ to India at the tender stage but had sent another model, ‘the AS 350 B3 model powered by ARRIEL 2B 1 engine’ for the actual field trials.

“No clearance was taken from the Ministry for fielding a different helicopter at the trials. In fact, such a deviation can be approved only by the Defence Minister after it goes through the Defence Procurement Board, which was not done in this case,” a top official said.