An RFI was floated by the Navy in 2017 for 36 deck-based fighters, and the main contenders were the American F/A-18 Super Hornet and the French Rafale-M. There were news reports last year that the Navy is working with the Air Force for its carrier-borne aircraft needs, thus putting the Navy’s order alongside the MMRCA 2 tender. If this happens, it's quite likely that the Rafale may be the aircraft of choice, since the Air Force favours it over the Super Hornet. However, no further information is yet available on the matter.
But, from the Navy’s perspective, it's not clear if the Rafale would be the ideal platform as the Super Hornet seems to be more suitable considering the Navy's requirements. One of the advantages of selecting the Super Hornet would be the engine commonality with the upcoming TEDBF, as the TEDBF would also be based on the GE-414 engine... allowing for streamlined logistics and maintenance. The second advantage would be that the Super Hornet is manufactured by Boeing, which is also the manufacturer of the Navy’s P8-I aircraft, thereby increasing the inter-operability between the airplanes. The third advantage is that the Harpoon missile which is currently used on the P8-I could also be operated from the Super Hornet. Then, consider that the Super Hornet has foldable wings unlike the Rafale. Even though the difference in size between a Super Hornet with its wings folded and a Rafale isn't particularly large, even small differences can make a significant difference in the overall power of a carrier's air wing. When you have to fit as many aircraft as possible in the limited storage area within an Aircraft Carrier, every square foot counts.
The F/A 18 has been successfully tested from ski jumps and finally, considering the alliance of QUAD and the required interoperability between the Indian and US navies, it might make better sense to use an American platform rather than a French one.
At the end of the day, there are apprehensions and questions raised about whether it's a good idea for India to rely on American platforms, as things tend to change drastically whenever the administration changes in the US. In this situation, a deal that appears beneficial today may not be the same tomorrow. However, that remains an open question and a possibility to contend with. India continues to develop and mature its own platforms, and the Indian armed forces continue to reduce external dependencies as they move to homegrown platforms incrementally.