Corruption cannot increase the price of the product, just that some commission needs to be made to get a deal. In this case the company doesn't have to bribe anybody to clinch the deal - the makers and buyers are all the GoI, ultimately. If you are suggesting that DRDO officials are siphoning off money into their own accounts, that is very unlikely, for such large amounts. Accounts will be reviewed, you know.
I'm afraid we have to accept the bitter conclusion, that it is a failed project, if these numbers are true. There is no way we can maintain two top end MBTs, with one of them so expensive. The usual practice is to have one top end, expensive MBT and a much larger number of cheaper, lighter tanks. A high-low mix. So Russia has T-90s and T-72s, with the 72s intended as the cheap, numerous one. India has already purchased thousands of T-90s, so what we needed was a cheaper and smaller tank to replace the thousands of T-72s we have. Instead, we are making a tank that is a helluva lot more expensive than the T-90. Russia herself abandoned the development of T-95 (I think) because they did not want to maintain two types of MBTs.
So @
GORKHALI, please ask them if this is indeed the price. My hope is that maybe this price also includes other stuff, like weapons and maintenance depots. If not, this is a shocker.
