NEW DELHI: The defence ministry may forego the offset clause to speed up deliveries of a Russian air defence system designed to deter Pakistani fighters and provide a missile shield for major cities, said people with knowledge of the matter. India and Russia will start final negotiations on the S 400 air defence system next month with the deal value pegged at Rs 39,000 crore. It is a strategic project and is very important for the two countries," said Viktor N Kladov, director of international cooperation at Rostec, the Russian state-owned company that controls sales of the S 400 system. This could be increased based on performance, they said.If the contract is signed within a year, deliveries could start by 2019-20. "China will likely get the system this year itself after signing up to be the first export customer.

Source: Economic Times February 20, 2017 19:18 UTC