ISRO deals a spectrum scam bigger than 2G scam

A controversial transponder deal of the Indian Space Research Organisation ( ISRO) appears set to blow up into another multi- crore spectrum scam, even though the space agency is apparently in the process of cancelling the agreement it had signed with a private firm, Devas Multimedia.

When audit objections were raised a few months back regarding the deal, the agency informed the Comptroller and Auditor General of India ( CAG) that it was “ in the process of cancelling the contract”. A source in the CAG said though it had raised its objections to the S- band spectrum deal, ISRO had said it might cancel the licence.

“ If that happens, we may withdraw the objections. In any case, it was just a preliminary process. We are nowhere near drafting the report,” an auditor said.

In an official statement, however, CAG maintained that the “ audit of certain activities of the department of space is under way” and “ only preliminary queries have been raised on certain decisions of the department.” Since the audit was in a preliminary stage, the CAG said it would be wrong to project information ( about the loss of ` 2 lakh crore) as findings of the department. In Bangalore, ISRO also said the agreement is under review.

Devas, however, denied the allegations. The company said it does not own any spectrum and that the services it would provide would be based on satellite transponders leased from the space agency.

“ Both — the satellite and spectrum — belong to the space research organisation,” Ramachandran Viswanathan, president and CEO of Devas, said in a statement released from the US. The controversial deal involves ISRO’s allocation of the much sought after Sband spectrum of 2.5 Gigahertz ( GHz) frequency to Devas without bidding in 2005. S- band ( 2- 4 GHz) is coveted by telecom majors as it could multiply the speed and volume of data transfer. ISRO has 150 Megahertz of spectrum width in this band and Devas has got about 70 Megahertz from that. The deal could last for 12 years.

Critics see the deal as a favour to Devas because of its close ties with ISRO. Devas has three ISRO veterans on its board and its chairman M. G. Chandrasekhar is a former scientific secretary of ISRO. The company’s chief technology officer, D. Venugopal, used to handle satellite communication at the agency. To ward off criticism, ISRO had recently nominated a serving officer — V. R. Katti — as a director in the company.

Devas still claims it has not received any communication regarding the contract from ISRO. “ The GSAT 6 satellite programme already has approval from the Union cabinet and space commission for its services, and Devas is developing an innovative satellite system,” Viswanathan added.

However, the launch plan announced by ISRO for 2011 does not include GSAT 6 ( INSAT- 4E), a ‘ multimedia broadcast satellite’. There has neither been any official announcement of GSAT 6A, the other satellite that would carry transponders that Devas plans to use.