Devas-Antrix Deal Recent
Source : Indian Express
GS II : International Relation
What is discussed under Devas Antrix Deal Recent?
- What is Devas-Antrix Deal?
- National Company Law Tribunal in India Order
Why in News ?
A US court has allowed foreign investors in Devas Multimedia Pvt. Ltd to seize more than $87,000 from a bankrupt US satellite firm as part of efforts to recover $1.2 billion in compensation from the commercial arm of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) over the cancellation of a 2005 satellite deal.
Key Facts
- The investors are attempting to seize the assets linked to Antrix Corp in the US to enforce a $1.2-billion compensation award made in favour of Devas by the International Chamber of Commerce on September 14, 2015 for the cancellation of the satellite deal by India in 2011.
What is Devas-Antrix Deal?
- 2005 Antrix-Devas deal ISRO was supposed to lease two communication satellites for 12 years at a cost of Rs 167 crore to Devas.
- The start-up was to provide multimedia services to mobile platforms in India using the space band or S-band transponders on ISRO’s GSAT 6 and 6A satellites, built at a cost of Rs 766 crore by ISRO.
- The UPA government annulled the deal in February 2011 amid the 2G crisis.
- It cited the requirement of the S-band spectrum for security purposes of the country.
- The cancellation of the deal and subsequent developments have resulted in a legal battle between Devas’s foreign investors and Indian authorities linked to the state-run Antrix Corp and ISRO.
About the Deal
- A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed in July 2003 by Forge (a US consultancy) and Antrix for the use of satellite spectrum for the expansion of communication systems in India.
- However, later on, a start-up was envisioned, and Devas Multimedia was floated.
- The MoU was to provide multimedia services to mobile users using the leased S-band satellite spectrum.
- Deal signed in 2005
- ISRO would lease to Devas two communication satellites (GSAT-6 and 6A) for 12 years and Devas provide multimedia services to mobile platforms in India.
- Why the Deal Cancelled?
- Corruption claims that the Devas deal entailed the transfer of communication spectrum worth about Rs 2 lakh crore as part of the 2G scandal.
- Officials from Devas, ISRO, and Antrix connected to the deal were named in a charge sheet issued by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for “being party to a criminal conspiracy.”
National Company Law Tribunal in India Order
- Ordered the liquidation of Devas on May 25, 2021, citing fraudulence in its creation.
- The NCLT order was upheld by the Supreme Court of India on January 17, 2022.
- The ED filed an application in a Bengaluru special court in June this year to declare the US-based Devas founder and CEO Ramachandran Viswanathan a “fugitive economic offender”.
Antrix Corporation Limited
- Antrix Corporation Limited (ACL), Bengaluru is a wholly owned Government of India Company under the administrative control of the Department of Space.
- It was incorporated as a private limited company owned by Government of India in September 1992.
- It is a marketing arm of ISRO for promotion and commercial exploitation of space products, technical consultancy services and transfer of technologies developed by ISRO.
- Another major objective is to facilitate development of space related industrial capabilities in India.
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