NEW DELHI, Jan. 17 -- The defence procurement board (DPB) on Friday gave its go-ahead to an Indian Air Force proposal to buy 114 French-origin Rafale jets to shore up its combat fleet at a time it is grappling with a shortage of fighter squadrons, officials aware of the matter said. The approval by the DPB, headed by defence secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh, has paved the way for the proposed acquisition to be taken up by the defence acquisition council (DAC), India's apex military procurement body. An actual deal is still a long way off as the acquisition has to be cleared by the DAC, headed by defence minister Rajnath Singh, followed by the final nod from the Cabinet Committee on Security headed by the PM, the officials said. The capability boost is expected to cost around Rs.3.25 lakh crore, as previously reported by HT. Under the model being considered, the Rafales will be made in India by French firm Dassault Aviation and a local partner.P11...