"India-France Statement Omits Scorpene Reference"

The joint documents issued after the Modi-Macron summit in Paris did not mention the proposed deal for 26 Rafale-Marine fighters or the MoU for the construction of three more Scorpene submarines in India. The reference to the Scorpene submarines was later dropped from the bilateral statement. The government claims that an earlier negotiating text was mistakenly uploaded on the external affairs ministry's website and that the approved text is the same as published by the French government. The actual contracts for both procurements are still far from being signed, and the government likely wants to avoid controversy ahead of the upcoming general elections.