In the wake of Kargil war, IAF wanted 126 Mirage 2000s to augment their fleet. Then then GoI acquiesced and the ball was set in motion to go for the Mirages, which were the only realistic options available to IAF around that time (1999)
As usual, realities stepped in, first of all money, secondly the infamous
laalpheetasaahi.
Babus in the MoD in a mind boggling of epic proportions, claimed that because the planes to be acquired were Mirage 2000-5, they were no longer the same as Mirage 2000Hs acquired by IAF, hence it could not be treated as a follow on order!!!
Hence the acquisition had to be tendered. Which mean RFP had to be send out to other contenders. By then Mirage 2000 line was discontinued and no longer a realistic option.
To expand the number of contenders, MMRCA evolved into MRCA or simply Multi-role combat aircraft. The restriction on medium was restricted so both single and twin engine aircraft were allowed. Six companies responded and these aircraft were called in for trials.
After extensive trials, Rafale and Eurofighter were the two retained by the IAF technical evaluation team and forwarded to MoD for tendering and contract negotiations. Of course the whole thing turned out to be dog's bollocks, with this twist MRCA became untenable. Parrikar said as much and then the decision was taken to completely scrap MRCA and start afresh.
But negotiations never stalled. This is what Parrikar had to s
Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar has fired another warning shot across the bows of French fighter manufacturer, Dassault, which has been negotiating for three years with the ministry of defence (MoD) to sell the Indian Air Force (IAF) 126 Rafale fighters.
A fortnight after
declaring that the IAF could make do with additional Sukhoi-30MKI fighters - which HAL builds in Nashik - in case "complications" in the negotiations were not resolved, Parrikar has gone further in outlining how the IAF could function were it decided not to procure the Rafale.
Speaking to a television channel, Headlines Today, on Monday, Parrikar said the Su-30MKI offered a viable alternative, especially given that Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) was upgrading and overhauling the fighter and equipping it with state-of-the-art electronic warfare systems.
Said Parrikar:
"Sukhoi-30 choice is always there. What I mean to say is: upgrade the Sukhoi-30, make it more capable." Dismissing concerns about the IAF's falling fighter numbers, Parrikar said the
IAF could put more fighters into the sky by improving the serviceability rate of its current fleet of 35 squadrons.
Let us examine. Parrikar said
if complications in negotiations were not resolved.
This was Parrikar's plan B. He was sending out a message to Dassault that India was perfectly happy to back away from the Rafale purchase in absence of a suitable deal. But what he DID NOT SAY was that the deal is off. He put the onus on Dassault to satisfy Indian concerns, thereby strengthening our hands at the bargaining table. Do note, MoD had not yet deiced to order more MKIs, they were focused on increasing serviceability
This was also to contrast ACM Raha who said there was no Plan B. Parrikar was saying, Yes, we do have a plan B we are
prepared to exercise it in case Plan A doesn't work.
Do note, nowhere did he say that another manufacturer was in contention- EF, Gripen, or the Teens.
Yes looks like it's Kutch. We also see elements of Blue team and Read team. 
