To Mr. Bhushan,
you raise a question, based on the "claim" that the budget cut will effect the Rafale procurement and missing many important points!
To start with, the cuts includes the overall defence budget of all three forces, not IAFs budget alone. Divided by three and compared to the total value of the possible MMRCA costs, the effect for IAF will only be marginal and could be balanced by delaying smaller, or less important procurements!
Secondly, IAF reportedly preferred a fast induction of additional Mirage 2000-5s in the first MRCA competition, which was delayed by the government and later extended to M-MRCA. The new competition was not meant to offer a cost-effective stop gap fighter anymore, but had a higher focus on benefits for the Indian industry! That's why the offsets and ToT requirements were increased, US and additional European vendors were allowed to the competition.
For IAF that meant, they had to choose a new type of fighter anyway, but were able to choose one with good future potential and one that increase it's capabilities with the growing threat from China in mind.
You also left out the current threat potential for IAF in your article, which is an important though!
Chinese and Pakistani air forces are modernising their fleets in a faster pace than IAF currently, while we are even forced to phase out more fighters than initially expected before 2017. At the same time only Su 30s and LCA MK1 will enter service, with the MK2 version only "expected" from 2017 onwards. All other alternatives you mentioned will be available only in the mid or even the end of the next decade, if at all, since most of these projects are only in the initial planning stages and not even fully funded yet.
The Mig 29s are placed to counter Pakistani forces and the capability of LCA MK2, just like it's induction remain uncertain, Jaguars are old generation strike fighters, with no air to air capability, which raises the question how would you counter China till 2022 when the FGFA arrives?
The MMRCA will not only add numbers to India, but bridge also the technical and industrial capability of IAF and the Indian industry, till India might be capable of developing own fighters and drones at a competitive level to other countries.
China don't need to laugh about us in 2030, they could do it in 2015 if we don't buy Rafale, because they will have an edge in numerical and technical terms, while their industrial advantage will increase even further!
