New Delhi: Government on December 18 said the acquisition plan for the much-needed Advance Jet Trainer (AJT) deal was stuck due to an "impasse in price negotiations" and efforts were underway to sort out the knots.

"The AJT could not be finalised due to an impasse in price negotiations", government told the Parliamentary standing committee on Defence in an action-taken report tabled in Parliament.

Though not disclosing whether the negotiations were with the British Aerospace Hawks, which had emerged as a single vendor for the deal, government said in the report that "various other options were also under examination".

The government was responding to strong criticism by the committee, which pointed out that acquisition of the AJT had been hanging for the last two decades.

The Committee had also cautioned that in the absence of the AJT, the Indian Air Force would have no other way but to use Mig-21BIS for training purposes, which could cause reduction in strength of the Migs in operational duties.

The government's response assumes significance as the Defence Minister had recently said that he was at his wits' end over the deal. He had also said besides the Hawks, India was now considering six other offers from the Czechs, Russians and other nations.

PTI