Prime Minister Narendra Modi, at a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron on Jattvibeday, stressed the need for “Make in India” in military equipment, including Rafale jets being procured by India under an Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA).At a post-meeting briefing, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri was asked whether the “Make in India” component for the 114 Rafale jets was discussed. He said the Prime Minister, in all his meetings during the France visit, emphasised greater focus on Make in India through co-development, co-production and co-manufacturing.“The PM in all his meetings today (in France) laid stress that we need to have greater focus on Make in India. We need to co-develop, have co-production and do co-manufacturing in India. We want more and more in India, that is our preference,” Misri said.He added that the discussion was not limited to Rafale jets alone and also covered other platforms.“We talked about how we need more local content in all manufacturing and research,” Misri said.Though he did not mention specific platforms, India and France are also looking at jointly making three more Scorpene-class submarines in India. Two separate engine development programmes — for next-generation fighter jets and a new class of helicopters — were also likely discussed at the meeting.French company Safran and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited already have a joint venture to develop engines for a 13-tonne Indian Multi Role Helicopter. The same company is also partnering with the Gas Turbine Research Establishment (GTRE) to develop a 120-kilonewton thrust engine for India’s fifth-generation Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA).On Rafale, India has sent a formal Letter of Request (LoR) to France for procurement of 114 jets. The LoR is a formal government-to-government communication used to initiate defence procurement under the Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) framework.India has laid down a set of non-negotiable clauses, including indigenous weapons and data links, with engine, airframe and avionics covered under transfer of technology. Integration of Indian weapons, missiles and ammunition on all 114 jets is also part of the deal.A statement from the Ministry of External Affairs said the two sides expressed satisfaction at the “excellent growth” and depth of bilateral defence cooperation across all domains.“They agreed to further intensify it with focus on co-design, co-development and co-production of defence platforms and advanced technologies,” the MEA said.Last week, French diplomatic sources in New Delhi said France was comfortable with technology sharing and that “Make in India will be part of the deal”. Asked about integration of Indian weapons onto the jet, the diplomatic source said “integration of local weapons is also a part of the deal”.France does not see its military ties with India as a “customer-provider” relationship, the source said, adding that “very substantive and deep discussions are on at the moment on the Rafale deal”.