Space Commission likely to discuss Devas contract tomorrow
11 Feb 2011
India's top space policy body is on Saturday expected to discuss a structural revamp of Antrix, which is at the centre of a controversial deal to lease out bulk transponders on two satellites to a private firm.
Antrix is the commercial arm of Indian space agency ISRO.
At the meeting of the Space Commission, headed by ISRO chairman K Radhakrishnan, the controversial contract with Devas would likely be discussed among other issues, sources said.
The Commission had, in July last year, recommended that the contract be scrapped. Under the contract, the company floated by ex-ISRO officials was to get a lease of 90 per cent of the S-band transponders on two satellites - GSAT 6 and GSAT 6A - for its novel Digital Broadcast Audio Service.
Antrix had signed the contract in January 2005 and had got the sanction of the Space Commission and the union cabinet for two satellites. The cabinet was, however, not informed that the bulk capacity would be leased to Devas Multimedia.
In its review of the deal, ISRO recommended its annulment on 2 July 2010. The Commission also suggested that Antrix be restructured A report on the matter had also been subsequently submitted to ISRO.
Prime minister Manmohan Singh appointed a two-member committee to review the Antrix-Devas deal following a media expose that claimed that the deal has caused loss to exchequer to the tune of Rs2,00,000 crore.
