India to get 3 Rafales on November 5

India is expected to get 3 Rafale jets on November 5th. New Delhi has already got the first batch of 5 Rafales earlier this year amid fanfare. The 5 Rafales were inducted at Ambala airbase on 10th September in the presence of French Defence Minister Florence Parly and Indian defence minister Rajnath Singh. Under the 2016 agreement worth Rs 59000 crores, India will get 36 rafales. 

The development comes even as tensions at the Line of actual control between India and China remains. The Chinese build-up at the LAC remains despite a number of rounds of diplomatic and military talks. 

Meanwhile, India's Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla is expected to be in France later this week during his European tour. During the visit, he will have high-level meetings at the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs with dedicated consultations on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) as India prepares to be on the high table from January. 

Both sides are keen to jointly work at the council when India becomes a non-permanent member of the United Nation Security Council starting first January 2021. France is a veto-holding permanent member of the UNSC. Shringla will also make a speech in a prominent French think tank.