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Canada visa update: Indians get work permit in 16 weeks, PR in 5 months
Indians waiting to go to Canada for study or work may have to prepare for longer wait times, according to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC)'s latest application processing estimates.
The weekly and monthly updates cover a range of immigration categories, including visitor, work, and study visas, as well as permanent residency and citizenship. These estimates reflect the time taken to process 80% of applications in each category.
Take a look at the latest processing times and what they mean for Indian applicants and others planning to visit, study, or settle in Canada.
Citizenship certificate: 4 months (up from 3 months)
Renunciation of citizenship: 7 months (down from 8 months)
Search of citizenship records: 15 months (no change)
Resumption of citizenship: no estimate due to insufficient data
Those who applied around March 31, 2025, should expect to receive their Acknowledgement of Receipt soon. IRCC has also flagged delays for certificate requests from outside Canada or the US.
Temporary resident visas (updated weekly)
Visitor visa (outside Canada)
India: 18 days (down from 19 days)
United States: 18 days
Nigeria: 96 days (up from 89 days)
Pakistan: 26 days (up from 25 days)
Philippines: 28 days (up from 27 days)
Visitor visa (inside Canada): 23 days (up from 20 days)
Visitor extension: 169 days (up from 163 days)
Super visa for parents and grandparents
India: 105 days (down from 119 days)
US: 79 days (up from 74 days)
Nigeria: 69 days (up from 68 days)
Pakistan: 173 days (up from 172 days)
Philippines: 113 days (down from 116 days)
Study permit
From outside Canada:
India: 9 weeks (up from 8 weeks)
US: 5 weeks
Nigeria: 5 weeks
Pakistan: 12 weeks (up from 9 weeks)
Philippines: 15 weeks (up from 11 weeks)
From inside Canada:
5 weeks (up from 4 weeks)
Study permit extension: 234 days (up from 223 days)
Work permit
From outside Canada:
India: 16 weeks (down from 18 weeks)
US: 11 weeks (down from 17 weeks)
Nigeria: 10 weeks (up from 9 weeks)
Pakistan: 7 weeks (down from 8 weeks)
Philippines: 6 weeks (down from 7 weeks)
From inside Canada: 237 days (up from 233 days)
Other temporary categories
Seasonal agricultural worker programme: 13 days (up from 11 days)
< International Experience Canada (IEC): 5 weeks
< Electronic travel authorisation (eTA): 5 minutes (may take up to 72 hours in some cases)
Permanent residency (PR) cards (updated weekly)
New PR card: 43 days (up from 35 days)
PR card renewal: 11 days (up from 10 days)
Family sponsorship (updated monthly)
Timelines vary by province, with longer waits in Quebec due to its additional review process.
Spouse/common-law (outside Canada, non-Quebec): 10 months (down from 11 months)
Spouse/common-law (outside Canada, Quebec): 36 months (up from 35 months)
Spouse/common-law (inside Canada, non-Quebec): 29 months (up from 24 months)
Spouse/common-law (inside Canada, Quebec): 36 months (unchanged)
Parents/grandparents (non-Quebec): 36 months (unchanged)
Parents/grandparents (Quebec): 48 months (no change)
Canadian passport (updated May 1, 2025)
In-person application: 10 business days
By mail (within Canada): 20 business days
Urgent pick-up: by end of next business day
Express pick-up: 2–9 business days
Mailed from outside Canada: 20 business days
Permanent residency – economic class (updated monthly)
Canadian Experience Class (CEC): 5 months
Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP): 5 months (down from 6 months)
Provincial Nominee Program (Express Entry): 5 months (down from 6 months)
Non-Express Entry PNP: 20 months (down from 21 months)
Quebec Skilled Workers: 9 months
Federal Self-Employed: 53 months (up from 50 months)
Atlantic Immigration Program: 11 months
IRCC uses an online tracker that adjusts based on real-time data, giving applicants a clearer idea of how long they might wait. The tool was introduced in 2022 to replace older fixed processing benchmarks.
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Indian Express
40 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Decode Politics: ‘Bharat Mata', ‘Mother India', ‘Vande Mataram': As another row erupts, what lies beneath
IN THE SPACE of a week, Kerala has seen two rows break out over a portrait of 'Bharat Mata'. First, the LDF state government relocated its World Environment Day celebrations from the Raj Bhavan, claiming that the photo of Bharat Mata on display at the event was 'one used by the RSS'. But, days later, Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar paid tributes to the same image during Goa Day celebrations at the Raj Bhavan. Objecting to the use of the image at Raj Bhavan, CPI leader and Agriculture Minister P Prasad said, 'A seat of a constitutional body should not be using this.' Arlekar, who recently took over as Governor after a long period of fractious relationship between the LDF government and Raj Bhavan, hit back, saying, 'Whatever be the pressure from whichever quarters, there will be no compromise whatsoever on Bharat Mata.' State BJP leader N Hari also attacked the LDF, claiming 'they are afraid to say Bharat Mata… due to vote bank politics'. While the symbolic icon of Bharat Mata, or Mother India, has often been depicted in art, there is no official version of the portrayal. The image used at the Kerala Raj Bhavan, for instance, depicted Bharat Mata holding a saffron flag in front of a relief map of India. The Left objected to this. Another image, used by the CPI for a local party event in the middle of the row incidentally, showed Bharat Mata carrying the Tricolour. As the BJP celebrated the Left's use of the image, the party hastily withdrew the same. In the history of modern Indian art, Bharat Mata has adorned the canvas of only two artists of repute. The first was the product of the Bengal Renaissance, Abanindranath Tagore, who first visualised the Indian nation as the Mother. The second was the modernist M F Husain, whose painting of Bharat Mata was banned and trashed – and he was forced to spend his last years outside his country. The imagery first appeared in the works of artists and writers in Bengal, much before it was used elsewhere in the context of India's national movement for Independence. Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay's 1882 novel Anand Math contained the hymn to the motherland Vande Mataram, which became the mantra of the freedom movement, and the official song of India after Independence. The novel depicts the three faces of Bharat Mata as Goddesses Jagaddhatri, Kali and Durga. Two decades later, in 1905, after partition of Bengal under Lord Curzon, Abanindranath painted his iconic Bharat Mata, a woman in saffron robes, with a serene face and halo around her head, beads and scriptures in her hands. The revolutionary Aurobindo Ghose wrote in a letter to his wife Mrinalini Devi in August that same year: 'I look upon my country as the Mother. I adore her, I worship Her as the Mother. What would a son do if a demon sat on his mother's breast and started sucking her blood?' Mother India retained her symbolic force through the national movement, even though the metaphor often changed with the speaker who employed it. In The Discovery of India, written by him in jail in the 1940s, Jawaharlal Nehru recounted his experience when people greeted him with slogans of 'Bharat Mata ki Jai'. 'Who was this Bharat Mata, Mother India, whose victory they wanted?… Mother India was essentially these millions of people, and victory to her meant victory to these people,' he wrote. The first major enunciation of the Mother India concept came in the writings of Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya. 'The foundation of our nationalism is Bharat Mata,' he wrote. 'Remove Mata, Bharat will be reduced to just a piece of land.' However, this was merely a paraphrasing of what Bankim had written nearly a century ago, when he elaborated on the notion of Mother India as a woman having the characteristics of Sujala, Suphala (overflowing with water and laden with fruits) and Dashapraharana Dharini Durga (Goddess Durga with her 10 weapons), Lakshmi and Saraswati. The imagery was also used in popular media and Hindi cinema – the iconic frame of actress Nargis, with a yoke and two babies, was an unforgettable cultural intervention, in 1957's film Mother India. Several historians have pointed out that the Bharat Mata visualised by its pioneers was more a 'Banga Mata', or Mother Bengal, with the deities they invoked being Kali and Durga, often their family deities. In Vande Mataram, Bankim called upon only the 'sapt koti' or seven crore people of Bengal. The first critics of the metaphor too came from among its inventors. Fifteen years after the Partition of Bengal, in August 1920, Aurobindo underlined the limits of the slogan and sought a greater mantra: 'We used the Mantra Bande Mataram with all our heart and soul… (but) the cry of the Mantra began to sink and as it rang feebly, the strength began to fade out of the country… A greater Mantra than Bande Mataram has to come.' The first two paragraphs of Bankim's Vande Mataram were adopted as the national song after Independence. The government did not retain the verses that mentioned either 'sapt koti', or the eulogies to the Goddesses Durga and Lakshmi. The obvious reference to Bengali nationhood was removed. Almost up to Independence, few underlined the religious overtones of the slogan, and it remained an essential mantra of an occupied country, a rallying call for its people. It found little resistance from other communities until 1947, when during the Partition riots, 'Bharat Mata ki Jai' was perceived as a communal slogan, the same as 'Allah-o-Akbar'. But, barring some isolated voices against Vande Matram, Mother India remained a largely benign concept that did not attract controversy. During the Ram Janmabhoomi movement of the late 1980s, however, 'Bharat Mata ki Jai' was used for communal mobilisation. Now Bharat Mata was an aggressive image, carrying swords and other weapons, and sometimes riding a tiger. The Anna Hazare movement of 2011, one of the biggest mass mobilisations of recent decades, which shook the Central government and paved the way for the emergence ultimately of Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party, used the image of Bharat Mata as the rallying point for an anti-corruption crusade. More recently, in February 2023, the Indian Council for Historical Research, an autonomous body under the Ministry of Education, faced 'objections' over a photo of Bharat Mata in its office, alongside pictures of President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In early 2016, after allegedly anti-India slogans were raised at Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi, leading to a sedition case against its then students' union president Kanhaiya Kumar, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat said that youth should be taught to chant 'Bharat Mata ki Jai'. AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi shot back, saying he would not chant 'Bharat Mata ki Jai' even if a knife were put to his throat, prompting the Shiv Sena to tell Owaisi to 'go to Pakistan'. RSS general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale then referred to Owaisi as 'anti-national' and a 'traitor'. Later, in March 2016, AIMIM MLA Waris Pathan was suspended from the Maharashtra Assembly for refusing to say 'Bharat Mata ki Jai', even as he said he was willing to chant 'Jai Hind'. At the time, the BJP, Congress, Shiv Sena and NCP together backed a resolution to suspend Pathan for the remainder of the Budget Session. However, weeks after the controversy, BJP veteran L K Advani called the row over the slogan 'meaningless', while Bhagwat said nobody should be 'forced' to say 'Bharat Mata ki Jai'. In 2020, in the aftermath of the Delhi riots, former PM Manmohan Singh said the slogan was 'being misused to construct a militant and purely emotional idea of India that excludes millions of residents and citizens' while speaking at the launch of a book titled 'Who is Bharat Mata'.


Mint
40 minutes ago
- Mint
Penny stock below Re 1 jumps 10% despite selling pressure in Indian stock market
Stock Market Today: Penny stock below Re 1 gained 10% in the morning trades on Thursday despite selling pressure in Indian stock market. Check details of developments around Enbee Trade & Finance Ltd. ENBEE Trade and Finance on Wednesday, post market hours announced forming a strategic Alliance with Sunrise FinServe Pvt Ltd to Boost Loan Disbursement Efficiency. The Partnership as per Enbee Trade is to enhance financial inclusion and streamline loan processing across Maharashtra and Gujarat. Through this partnership, ENBEE will strengthen its lending procedures by utilizing Sunrise FinServe's extensive industry knowledge, strong distribution network, and cutting-edge customer acquisition skills. The partnership aims to increase credit availability for underprivileged and semi-urban populations, expedite application processing, and maximize turnaround times. The management of ENBEE Trade and Finance Ltd, commented, "We are excited to partner with Sunrise FinServe Pvt Ltd to accelerate our growth in the retail lending space. This alliance is not just a step towards operational efficiency but also a strategic move to enhance financial inclusion. By leveraging Sunrise's experience and digital reach, we aim to provide quicker, more accessible financial services to a broader customer base, especially in key markets like Maharashtra and Gujarat." ENBEE Trade and Finance Ltd. recorded total revenue of Rs. 19.73 crore for the fiscal year that ended on March 31, 2025. This represents a significant increase from Rs. 10.25 crore in FY 2023-24, or more than a 92% year-over-year growth. The company's net profit for FY25 was Rs. 4.95 crore, up over 217% year over year from FY24's Rs. 1.56 crore. The company's consolidated net profit for the fourth quarter, which concluded on March 31, 2025, was Rs. 1.64 crore, a 76% year-over-year increase over the net profit of Rs. 0.93 crore in Q4 FY24. These outcomes as per company highlight ENBEE's firm growth plan, careful financial execution, and strong operational momentum, Penny stock below Re 1 Enbee Trade & Finance- share price movement Penny stock below Re 1 Enbee Trade & Finance share price opened at Re 0.79 on the BSE on Thursday. The Enbee Trade & Finance share price was up close to 10% over the previous days closing price of Re 0.72 .Penny stock below Re 1 Enbee Trade & Finance there after continued to trade at similar levels as the level of 0.79 was also the upper price band and hence Penny stock below Re 1 Enbee Trade & Finance was locked in the upper circuit Disclaimer: The views and recommendations made above are those of individual analysts or broking companies, and not of Mint. We advise investors to check with certified experts before making any investment decisions.
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First Post
41 minutes ago
- First Post
Make-in-India Rafale fuselage: A strategic move forward
Rafale fuselage will be produced in India for both domestic and global markets. This marks the first time in history that Rafale fuselages will be manufactured outside France read more In a big boost to Make-in-India, Dassault Aviation of France and India's Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL) will partner for Rafale aircraft fuselage manufacturing at a dedicated facility in Hyderabad. The key structural sections of the aircraft, to be manufactured in India include the central fuselage, rear section, lateral rear shells, and the front section. The first fuselage sections are expected to roll out by FY2028, with a production capacity of up to two complete fuselages per month. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Rafale fuselage will be produced in India for both domestic and global markets. This marks the first time in history that Rafale fuselages will be manufactured outside France. Four Production Transfer Agreements (PTA) have been signed between the companies. Eric Trappier, Chairman and CEO of Dassault Aviation, emphasised that this partnership is a 'decisive step in strengthening our supply chain in India,' noting that it aligns with the company's long-term strategy to collaborate with Indian aerospace firms like TASL. Sukaran Singh, CEO and MD of TASL, described the partnership as a milestone in India's aerospace journey, demonstrating both India's manufacturing prowess and the trust international aerospace leaders place in Indian partners. 'The production of the complete Rafale fuselage in India underscores the deepening trust in Tata Advanced Systems' capabilities and the strength of our collaboration with Dassault Aviation. It also reflects the remarkable progress India has made in establishing a modern, robust aerospace manufacturing ecosystem that can support global platforms,' Singh said. This facility will represent a significant investment in India's aerospace infrastructure and will serve as a critical hub for high-precision manufacturing. The Indian Air Force (IAF) has already acquired 36 Rafale and they have demonstrated their combat skills in the recent Operation Sindoor. The Indian Navy is procuring 26 maritime variants of Rafale-M. The IAF's case for 114 Multi-Role Fighter Aircraft (MRFA) procurement is in an advanced stage. Rafale is one of the contenders. Will these two developments tilt the case in favour of Rafale? IAF transition from Mirage 2000 to Rafale was like from one dream machine to another. In the initial training for test pilots, one is taught to assess an aircraft's characteristics by just looking at it. One look at the wing-body blending, the shape of the intakes, the twist in the wing, the incline of fuselage, the size of the vertical stabilizer, the base of the wheels, all indicate great design features. France has made some great aircraft. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Initial Aviation's French Connect After WW-II, aviation designer Marcel Dassault re-established the aviation industry. The M.D.450 (Marcel Dassault) Ouragan was the first French-designed jet fighter-bomber to enter production. The Ouragan was later operated by France, Israel, India and El Salvador. In June 1953, India ordered 71 Ouragans (Toofani). Finally 104 were bought, and were operated by IAF till 1965. The IAF started to replace the Ouragan gradually by the Dassault Mystère IVA in 1957. India procured 104 'supersonic-in-a-dive' Mystere. The aircraft were used extensively in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965. On 7 September 1965 an Indian Mystere, piloted by Squadron Leader Devayya shot down a Pakistani Lockheed F-104 Starfighter in a raid over Sargoda. Mystère IVs were also very successful in surface strikes. The aircraft were phased out by 1973. Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), licence-built versions of French Aérospatiale SA 315B Lama (designated Cheetah) and Aérospatiale Alouette III (designated Chetak) in the mid-1960s. Indian Navy procured 14 French Bréguet Br.1050 Alizé in 1960 for carrier operations. French Turbomeca TM 333 2B2 engine powered initial HAL Dhruv, later replaced by the Shakti engine, which was jointly developed by HAL and Turbomeca. TM 333 2M2 powers HAL Cheetal and Chetan, upgraded versions of the Cheetah and Chetak, respectively. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD India bought the Anglo-French SEPECAT Jaguar deep penetration strike aircraft (DPSA) in late 1970s, but the contract was serviced by the British. IAF built and upgraded many Jaguars and continues to fly significant numbers even today. Finally, IAF bought the Mirage 2000 that was inducted in 1984. It was the first relaxed stability fly-by-wire aircraft with active controls technology to induct in IAF. It also brought a modern Air Interception (AI) radar with look-down/shoot-down capabilities, and the first BVR missile, the Super R530, Later the all-aspect Magic 2 missile changed the dynamics of close combat. IAF also got the first comprehensive EW suite on any aircraft with a self-protection jammer, RWR, chaff and flare dispenser, an escort jammer and an Elint Pod. The aircraft was later upgraded to the Mirage 2000-5 Mk 2 standards, and extended its useful life for another 20–25 years. The upgrade included a new mission computer with higher memory, new radar, advanced navigation and electronic warfare systems, advanced communication and identification systems. It also has a new glass cockpit, and helmet-mounted displays. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Re-designated Mirage 2000I, aircraft also got the MICA air-to-air missiles. It can also carry the Israeli Spice-2000 glide bomb and the indigenous Astra AAM. Mirage 2000 performed exceedingly well in the 1999 Kargil conflict, which took place over some of the highest terrain in the world. Easy maintenance and a very high sortie rate made the Mirage 2000 one of the most efficient fighters of the IAF. Later Mirage was the chosen platform for the Balakot Strike, and took active part in Operation Sindoor. Rafale, the Winner of MMRCA Competition IAF needed additional medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA). The aircraft in the fray for this Indian tender were Lockheed Martin F-16C/D, Mikoyan MiG-35, Saab JAS 39 Gripen, Dassault Rafale, Eurofighter Typhoon, and the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet. The 126 aircraft were to fill the gap between the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) and the in-service Sukhoi Su-30MKI air superiority fighter. On 27 April 2011, after an intensive and detailed technical evaluation by the IAF, two fighters, the Typhoon and Rafale, cleared technical evaluation. On 31 January 2012 it was announced that Rafale won the competition due to its lower life-cycle cost. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The Rafale Aircraft The French twin-engine delta-wing fighter aircraft is an omni-role fighter with frontal-stealth capabilities. It can simultaneously undertake air supremacy, interdiction, reconnaissance, and the airborne nuclear deterrent missions. Rafale was inducted in the French Air Force and for carrier-based operations in the French Navy in 2000. Rafale has been used in combat over Afghanistan, Libya, Mali, Iraq, Syria, and in Operation Sindoor. The aircraft uses digital fly-by-wire controls and has a very high level of agility. The aircraft's canards improve aerodynamic performance. The Rafale's glass cockpit was designed around the principle of data fusion that prioritises information display to pilots. The primary flight controls are arranged in a hands-on-throttle-and-stick (HOTAS)-compatible configuration. The Rafale also features an advanced avionics suite. The passive front-sector electro-optical system can operate both in the visible and infrared wavelengths. The total value of the radar, electronic communications and self-protection equipment is about 30 percent of the cost of the entire aircraft. The Rafale features an integrated electronic survival system named SPECTRA, which protects the aircraft against airborne and ground threats. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The system incorporates radar warning receiver, laser-warning, Missile Approach Warning (MAW) for threat detection plus a phased array radar jammer and a decoy dispenser for threat countering. Areos all-weather, night-and-day-capable reconnaissance system used on the Rafale has the ability to transmit information such as images in real-time to ground stations. The RBE2 AA active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar has a range of 200 km. The 36 aircraft, €7.87 billion (Rs 58,891 crore), Government-to-Government (G2G), Rafale deal included 28 single-seat, and eight twin-seat aircraft. The deal included tailor-made IAF specific enhancements including the integration of an Israeli helmet-mounted display (HMD), radar warning receivers and low-band jammers. It included a weapons package and a performance-based logistics agreement. The aircraft's 14 hard-points can carry 9,500 kg external load. The air-to-air missiles include Matra Magic II, MBDA MICA IR or EM, and MBDA Meteor. Meteor is an active radar guided BVRAAM that offers multi-shot capability against long range manoeuvring jets, UAVs and cruise missiles in a heavy electronic countermeasures (ECM) environment with range of around 180 kilometres. The no-escape zone of over 60 km is the largest among air-to-air missiles according to the manufacturer. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD India also procured SCALP air-to-ground cruise missiles. Subsequently, the HAMMER (highly agile modular munition extended range) glide bomb was bought. The Indian Rafale is a modified version of the F3R standard. The two squadrons are located at two different air bases. Both these airbases have infrastructure and capacity for an additional squadron each. French has already tested the F4 variant with upgraded radar, improved HMDS, OSF (long-range optoelectronics system) will add IRST for detecting and identifying airborne stealth targets at long range. It will be more effective in network-centric warfare, with more data exchange and satellite communication capacity. Make-in-India Rafale Win-Win for India, France Indian Navy has just ordered 26 Rafale-M, French Air and Space Force and Navy have combined orders for 286. Other operators with confirmed orders are IAF (36) Croatia (12), Egypt (54), Qatar (36), UAE (50), Indonesia (42), and Serbia (12). More orders are on the way. The current production rate is 25 aircraft a year. It will take nearly 10 years to meet existing orders. France desperately needs another production in India will be for all global customers. India's capability to make global class aero-structures has been proven with cabins of Apache AH-64, Sikorsky S-92 helicopter and Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules aircraft. India also makes Lockheed Martin F-16 wings. India makes the entire indigenous Light Combat Aircraft (LCA). Making the Rafale fuselage in India will work out much cheaper for France. Induct 114 Rafale: Best Way Ahead Traditionally India and France have been enjoying an exceptionally warm relationship, which is the fruit of deep affinities and the unwavering trust between the two countries since India's independence. France is considered as the most reliable Western 'friend'. France has never imposed any sanctions or tried to arm-twist India. IAF regularly carries out Garuda series of air exercises with the French Air Force since 2003. The latest 'Garuda VII' was held at Jodhpur in November 2022. French air and Space Force (FASF) also participated in IAF multilateral exercise 'Tarang Shakti' in August-September 24. IAF is already down to 30 fighter squadrons' vis-à-vis the authorised 42. India has a two-front war threat. IAF urgently needs more fighter squadrons. The Request for Proposal (RfP) for 114 new 'Make-in-India' is still to be sent out. A full-fledged selection process could take 6-8 years. Rafale is a tried and tested aircraft. India has already paid for one time India specific enhancements. We have spare capacity at existing IAF Rafale bases to take more squadrons. There is 95 per cent commonality between the IAF and Navy Rafale. Most recent aircraft deals have all been G2G. Rafale has already been a winner of a contest in which similar competing aircraft were involved. India already has a large variety of fighter fleets. Multiple fleets are a logistical nightmare. To save time, it would be prudent to acquire 114 Rafale 4.5 generation aircraft. Initially, India would mostly make the fuselage airframe. As we go along, more sub-parts and components will be manufactured. If India chooses to make 114 Rafale for IAF, the order numbers along with the Navy would go up to 140. India could thus insist on making the entire aircraft in India. India could also tie-up with France's Safran for India's fighter aero-engine development. It will make better economic sense for IAF also to choose Rafale and acquire the latest variant F4 in a G2G deal and make it in India in larger numbers to amortise costs. The writer is former Director General, Centre for Air Power Studies. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost's views.