India to get three Rafale aircraft on November 5

India is expected to get three Rafale jets on November 5. It has already got the first batch of five Rafales earlier this year amid fanfare. The five Rafales were inducted at Ambala airbase on September 10 in the presence of French Defence Minister Florence Parly and Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. Under the 2016 agreement, India will get 36 rafales worth Rs 59,000 crore.

The development comes even as tensions at the Line of actual control between India and China remain. The Chinese build-up at the LAC continues 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.