one wonders why the Indians aren't inquiring about the F-35?
Have you considered the Build in India directive? Given that countless companies spread among numerous nations are involved in F-35 manufacture and assembly the chances of India getting a significant share in that at this late stage are slim to none. The Russians and Chinese are offering India the opportunity to both influence the design of the aircraft and to produce/assemble the aircraft they are developing. Further, both the Russians and Chinese appear to be willing to co-develop and share the resulting technologies with India. India very much wants to advance their domestic aviation capabilities. So the reasons are complex and involve economics, politics, technology transfer, maturing/growth of domestic industry, and lots more, and not simply aircraft performance.