Parliamentary panel to examine controversial Antrix deal

24 Mar 2011

1

The controversial deal between Antrix Corporation, the commercial unit of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and a Bangalore-based private firm, will now be examined by parliament's committee on estimates.

The government last month scrapped the deal following media reports of the likelihood of another major, multi-billion-dollar scam involving the allocation of 70 MHz of scarce S-band wavelength to the private firm for its digital multimedia services.

Prime minister Manmohan Singh also ordered a review of the deal by a committee that included B K Chaturvedi, member, Planning Commission, and Prof R. Narsimhan, an aerospace scientist.

Antrix Corporation had in January 2005 signed a contract with Bangalore-based Devas Multimedia for the lease of 90 per cent of transponders on two of ISRO's satellites, the GSAT-6 and GSAT-6A, to be launched later this year. Devas was to pay Antrix $300 million over a 12-year period.

The Space Commission had last year directed the government to ask Antrix to annul the contract, as there would be a huge increase in demand for space-based spectrum. It was felt that Devas Multimedia was getting the spectrum at a very cheap rate.

Worried over the flak it was getting on the 2G telecommunications auction scam, the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government hurriedly cancelled the contract that Antrix had signed.

Business History Videos

History of hovercraft Part 3 | Industry study | Business History

History of hovercraft Part 3...

Today I shall talk a bit more about the military plans for ...

By Kiron Kasbekar | Presenter: Kiron Kasbekar

History of hovercraft Part 2 | Industry study | Business History

History of hovercraft Part 2...

In this episode of our history of hovercraft, we shall exam...

By Kiron Kasbekar | Presenter: Kiron Kasbekar

History of Hovercraft Part 1 | Industry study | Business History

History of Hovercraft Part 1...

If you’ve been a James Bond movie fan, you may recall seein...

By Kiron Kasbekar | Presenter: Kiron Kasbekar

History of Trams in India | Industry study | Business History

History of Trams in India | ...

The video I am presenting to you is based on a script writt...

By Aniket Gupta | Presenter: Sheetal Gaikwad

view more
View details about the software product Informachine News Trackers