Panel to examine Antrix-Devas deal

A Parliamentary panel is scheduled to commence on Wednesday the examination of the Antrix-Devas deal, annulled by the government amid a controversy.

Officials from the Department of Space (DoS) are expected to brief Parliament’s Committee on Estimates, chaired by Congress member Francisco Sardinha, on the details of the deal under which Antrix Corporation, Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro)’s commercial arm, had agreed to lease bulk space segment in S-band on two satellites to a private company.

Last month, the Estimates Committee decided to examine the allocation of S-band spectrum by Isro, with special reference to the Antrix-Devas deal.

The government had in February annulled the controversial deal between Antrix Corporation and Bangalore-based Devas Multimedia for lease of space segment in S-band.

Under the deal, Antrix was to provide 70 MHz of the scarce S-Band space segment to Devas for its digital multimedia services. This was to be done by leasing 90 per cent of the transponders in satellites GSAT-6 and GSAT-6A that are proposed to be launched by Isro. Devas, in turn, was to pay Antrix a total of $300 million over 12 years.

The agreement was signed on January 28, 2005. Consequently, DoS got the Cabinet approval for the building of GSAT-6 at a cost of Rs 269 crore and GSAT-6A at Rs 147 crore under the Commission’s delegated powers.

There were complaints about the manner in which the deal was entered into, and the way it was being operationalised.

It was found that DoS got the approvals for building the satellites without making any reference to the fact that they were to be utilised primarily for Devas’ benefit.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has strongly rejected any suggestions that his office continued talks with Devas after the Space Commission decided to scrap the deal.

Singh had ordered a review of the deal by a committee comprising Planning Commission Member B K Chaturvedi and aerospace scientist Roddam Narasimha.

The committee had given its report to the Prime Minister on March 12. Singh had asked Cabinet Secretary K M Chandrasekhar to examine the report.