The Harriers kicked a$$ in the Falklands and showed a trumped up dictator that British Subjects will not be taken by force.
I think India can afford to buy new. Who knows, if they have a requirement for a VTOL aircraft, they might be able to buy some F-35Bs. Maybe.
Harriers, especially the Brit versions, are maintenance hogs and safety nightmares. Add to that a limited payload, range and speed and the Indians did the right thing.
The promise of STOVL has never been fully realized and even modern aircraft of a similar type, notably the F-35B, give up too much real-world performance in order to achieve that one, replaceable STOVL objective.
They're better off investing in CTOL aircraft with much better performance.
Bump!