Before Modi meets Macron, France withdraws from India's submarine project.

The group, which was one of five international players shortlisted for the Rs 43,000-crore project, stated that it is unable to meet the conditions of the Request for Proposal (RFP) and will therefore withdraw its bid.

Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's scheduled visit to France, French defence major Naval Group has announced that it will not participate in the P-75 India (P-75I) project, which calls for the construction of six conventional submarines in India for the Indian Navy.

The group, which was one of five international players shortlisted for the Rs 43,000-crore project, stated that it is unable to meet the conditions of the Request for Proposal (RFP) and will therefore withdraw its bid.

The project is the largest under the new strategic partnership model, in which an international Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) will collaborate with an Indian company to manufacture submarines in India while sharing technology.

The P-75I is the Naval Group's second submarine-building project in India, following the completion of six Kalvari class (Scorpene class) conventional submarines under the P-75 project in collaboration with the Mazagon Dockyard Shipbuilding Limited (MDL) in India. The P-75 project was signed in 2005 (Naval Group was known as DCNS at the time), and four of the six submarines have already been commissioned into the Navy. The sixth ship in the class was launched last month and is scheduled to be delivered late next year.

Laurent Videau, Country and Managing Director, Naval Group India, stated on April 30 that "the current RFP requires that the fuel cell AIP be sea proven, which is not the case for us yet because the French Navy does not use such a propulsion system."

The Air-independent Propulsion (AIP) technology for conventional submarines provides greater endurance, the ability to stay submerged for longer periods of time, and is less noisy than the diesel-electric propulsion system.

The Naval Group, according to Videau, "has always been ready to offer the best in class and adapted solution for the Indian Navy's P75(I) project, fully in line with the AatmaNirbhar Bharat principle." He stated that the Group will "strengthen our existing commitments and look forward to a closer relationship with India."

"Our priority is