The Indian Air Force (IAF) and the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) have signed the biggest ever deal in indigenous military aviation sector for procurement of 83 single-engine Tejas Mark-1A fighter aircrafts, reports the Times of India.

The signing of the much awaited deal not only comes as a big boost for the Government's push for Make in India programme and indigenous defence production, but also for the IAF which will benefit from the massive induction of newer fighter jets in its fleets along with the induction of 36 Rafale fighter jets built by french defence major Dassault Aviation.

It should be noted that the after intense and prolonged negotiations between the IAF and the HAL, the deal's size has been slashed from the erstwhile Rs 56,500 crore to Rs 39,000 crore. The overall reduction in price will enable the IAF to use the saved sum of over Rs 17,000 crore for other developments.

The deal having been signed by HAL and the IAF, it now only awaits the final nod from the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) which is headed by the Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi himself. The CCS is expected to hive its final nod in this fiscal itself, which ends on 31 March.

Meanwhile it should be noted that HAL has promised to begin the delivery of the fighter jets within three years from the day of signing of the contract upon approval of the CCS.