Government of India has black listed senior Scientist MadhavanNair from holding any post in Government,’ a harsh punishment in operation and would stay till the issue is resolved'(Abhisekh Singhvi), is laudable.
Image via Wikipedia Madhavan Nair with ex.President Kalam
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NEW DELHI: Former (Indian Space Research Organisation) Isro chief G Madhavan Nair and three other eminent space scientists have been barred from holding any government jobs in an unprecedented disciplinary action by the government for their role in the controversial Antrix-Devas deal.
An angry Nair blamed his successor and the current Isro chairman K Radhakrishnan today for the action, accusing him of being behind the move and pursuing a “personal agenda” by misleading the government. “This is his (Radhakrishnan’s) personal agenda. That individual is bent upon hitting so many people and in that process, he is killing the organisation,” Nair told PTI in Bangalore.
The government action came as an apparent fallout of the Antrix deal in which a private company was allotted scarce S band spectrum by Isro allegedly in violation of rules.
Besides Nair, K Bhaskaranarayana, former scientific secretary at ISRO, K R Sridharamurthi, former managing director of Antrix, commercial arm of ISRO, and K N Shankara, former director of the ISRO satellite centre, have been penalised by the Department of Space, an ISRO official said today.
However, what sticks out a mile is that while Madhavan Nair is being penalised,others ,including Politicians/PMO officials/PM, remain unnoticed.
In fact no name of Politician has come out though it is clear that a scam of this magnitude could not have happened with out their involvement .
High Morals.would you say, especially when, the Opposition had to literally jam the parliament to have Suresh Kalmadi of CWG scam removed- now he has come out on bail and is being offered the post of IOA Chief),Maran and Raja of 2G scam,and N.D.Tiwari from Gubernatorial post for paternity suit(now Tiwari is being offered the post of Governor again)!
BJP standing on moral high ground cuts no ice either;it was the BJP Government that had to be forced to remove Sibu Soren after he was charge-sheeted for murder!
But the involvement of the honchos in ISRO is clear in S Band ISRO scam.
In fact I blogged on this;Link is provided below.
By the way Antrix had planned to file a case in the court against the Government for trying to annul the contract .
What of it?
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Taking note of reports that CAG is investigating the loss of nearly Rs 2 lakh crore in the allotment of scarce S-band spectrum, BJP on Monday asked Prime Minister to clear the air, initiate an inquiry and take steps to recover the lost revenue.
“This whole affair is vitiated by fraud. And as a result, this country is facing not only loss of revenue but frittering away of valuable national asset which is a rare spectrum,” BJP spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman said.
A newspaper report claimed CAG is investigating the allotment of 70 MHz from the available 2500 MHz of S-band spectrum to Devas multimedia for 20 years. The company is owned by M G Chandrasekhar, former scientific secretary at ISRO.
BJP demanded this agreement be immediately nullified and the spectrum space given to the private user be recovered.
“Secondly, we demand a comprehensive inquiry to establish the criminality in the whole matter. We also demand recovery of the lost revenue,” Sitharaman said.
The party alleged this is a “very serious scandal” as it involves a “very unique and rare” spectrum. It also said since the department of space is directly under the Prime Minister, he should immediately clarify his stand on the whole issue.
“The spectrum we are talking about is 5-G which relates to GHz. Recently, BSNL andMTNL were alloted only 20 MHz for Rs 12,487 Crore. But for allocation of 70 MHz to this private operator, the government is charging only Rs 1,000 Crore,” Sitharaman said.
Meanwhile, the office of CAG has clarified that its investigations into the issue are at a preliminary stage and the media reports should not be treated as findings of this department.
ISRO Chief made the following observation in the press Conference on 8 February.
In 2004 a decision was taken to go in for KU band over S Band.On what grounds, no body is clear.
Suddenly ISRO finds S band has more potential.
Later it was decided to go in S band onan experimental basis.
Anrix , commercial arm of ISRO entered into an agreement with Devas Multi Media,Bangalore, for S Band services in 2005 and renewed in 2008 December..The contract was signed within 34 days from the approval from the board of Antrix.
Did the PMO knowingly push the deal and then back out?
The PMO insists it got to know about the deal in July 2010, and then supported moves to annul it.
It definitely knows.If it denies it is not governing at all.
There’s no loss to the exchequer yet. So why is the PMO on the defensive?
Space is part of the PM’s beat, leaving him vulnerable. Also, Devas’s untested technology was causing disquiet as it could potentially affect future plans of existing telcos.
His personal integrity is coming under attack. Spotlight on 2G spectrum scam—and the proximity to the PM—worked against the deal. The PM had to clear the air.
So, is this a scam?
Doesn’t seem to be one. The Antrix-Devas contract is legal and procedures were followed when it was signed in January ’05.
Perfectly legal.Antrix lost the Bribe it has paid as well.
Why then was it cancelled?
The government is yet to give a concrete reason beyond “national needs” and “country’s strategic requirements”.
National needs is somebody’s needs.
Is there nothing wrong in ISRO’s dealings with Devas?
Some experts say the deal was loaded in Devas’s favour, with easy payment terms and a hedge against market risk. But then, there were no takers for S-band when the contract was signed.
Yes.Some made money and the Scientist honchos walked in blindfolded.
What next?
Yes, of course, Devas will go to the courts. The government will have to change the Satcom policy and compensate.
R.I.P.
Is the PM safe?
As long as no clear link emerges between his office and the deal.
Perfectly, irrespective of who comes to power.
ISRO claims to have ordered a review in 2009. Around this time, media reports about irregularities in the deal had surfaced. Yet, Antrix continued its talks with Devas on the project till a few weeks ago. “We were in talks with Antrix for hiring a third-country launch vehicle for the satellites till the third week of January,” Devas president & CEO Ramachandran Vishwanathan told Outlook. There are other apparent contradictions. While there are reports that the Space Commission and the Department of Space were kept in the dark, Antrix executive director K.R. Sridhara Murthi wrote to the Devas CEO in February 2, 2006, stating that it had “received the necessary approval for building, launching and leasing the capacity of S-band satellite….” A copy of the letter is withOutlook. Obviously, the approval would have come either from ISRO or the Space Commission or both.
So, what could have suddenly made the prime minister so vulnerable that he had to take defensive action, namely, the press conference? “Things have changed. All of a sudden, you find there are many takers and S-band is more valuable than ever thought,” say PMO sources. Indeed, Devas’s planned services could yield some answers. “Devas’s service through a satellite transponder would have been competitive with 4G. It could have been game-changer for the sector,” says Dinayar Contractor, a cable and satellite expert. This was seen as a potential spoiler for operators who have spent thousands of crores of rupees for 3G and BWA/LTE spectrum.
With India still in the pre-consultation stage for 4G services, Devas’s service could actually supersede many levels and render many of the existing companies’ investments redundant. Currently, a portion of S-band spectrum is being used for 4G terrestrial cellular services in some countries. “This could potentially happen in India as well, but not anytime soon. Widespread 4G services should be preceded by full-fledged 3G services, which is still in a nascent stage in India,” says a source close to ISRO.
Did the FM,being an Economist, not know that the Spectrum band will fetch more if auctioned?
Why did not he check with TRAI on the statement of Raja on its recommendations?
Or was he also unaware that TRAI has that function?
Did he not deem it fit to question Raja why Spectrum has to be kept out of the Cabinet or GOM?
Says he is helpless in a coalition politics.
He should have come out with this statement that DMK is compelling him to accept their nominee, specifically Raja, then and there.
Now he can not say he knew something might be wrong and he was helpless.
Abetting Crime is more serious than executing it.
Story:
At a roundtable with television editors in his home on Wednesday morning, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said there were complaints “from all sides” about the way former Telecom Minister A Raja had distributed 2G spectrum but he was “not in a position” to make up his mind if anything was seriously wrong.
Singh said he had made his concerns clear to A Raja on 2G spectrum allocation but was assured by Raja — “on the same day” — that he was doing nothing wrong and that his methods were “absolutely transparent”.
Singh also said though he had conveyed his unease to Raja about 2G, he did not press further for auction after the Ministries of Telecom and Finance agreed to go by the prevailing system of first-come first-served.
The Prime Minister’s meet comes amid increasing clamour that he speak on the scams that have rocked the second term of the UPA government.
The Prime Minister assured the country that his government was “dead serious” in bringing to book all wrongdoers “regardless of their positions” in the 2G spectrum, CWG, ISRO and Adarsh scams.
Singh defended himself on Wednesday against accusations his government was a lameduck, saying it was trying to bring justice in some of the country’s biggest corruption scandals in decades.
“Whatever some people may say, that we are a lame duck government, that I am a lame duck Prime Minister, we take our job very seriously. We are here to govern, and to govern effectively. Tackle the problems as they arise and get this country moving forward,” he said.
Still on 2G, Singh said the issue of licences were never brought before him or the Cabinet.
The Prime Minister asserted that he was “not afraid of appearing before any committee, including a JPC”. “I will be quite happy to appear before any committee,” he said.
“I have never felt like resigning. I have a job to do. I never thought of giving up half-way,” he added.
Singh admitted there are certain compulsions in coalition politics, “compromises have to be made”, but also assured that the coalition was strong and there was “no danger of inner tension leading to a break-up”. “Our allies are with us whole-heartedly,” he said.
Singh also said the UPA government was in talks with the Opposition to break the logjam in Parliament over 2G. “Parliament should be allowed to function,” he said.
Allegations the government may have lost up to $39 billion in revenues after firms were awarded telecoms deals at rock-bottom prices in return for kickbacks have rocked the ruling coalition and compounded India’s fragile investment climate.
The 78-year-old Singh has been under increasing pressure to stamp out on corruption and his decision-making appears to have been paralysed in his second term despite winning re-election with an increased majority.
The scandals have taken a heavy toll on Singh, concerned his legacy is transforming from one of being the founders of India’s economic boom to someone who did nothing to stop corruption or policy paralysis.
Singh may have hoped the current scandals would ebb. But an aggressive media, an assertive Supreme Court and an opposition tasting political blood have seen momentum into the corruption probes grow.
ISRO claimed that no transaction has been involved.
No monetary gains for Devas.
Then how come their shares are off loaded toa Foreign investor at a premium?
And why would a German Telekom be interested in the deal?
ISRO declared that they have the sanctions from the government right from PMO.
Does it mean the Govt. is stupid enough to okay a deal where they have no intention of allowing the companies to profit?
What message does it send to Business?
Telecom minister Kapil Sibal may soon find himself in a similar tangle as his predecessor A Raja. A spectrum deal between the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and Devas Multimedia Private Ltd., which has reportedly caused an estimated loss of Rs 2 lakh crore to the exchequer, was approved by the Union Cabinet based on a note signed by Sibal, who was the then Minister of State for Science and Technology.
ISRO had allotted 70Mhz of scarce S-band spectrum to Devas Multimedia – floated by former ISRO Scientific Advisor MG Chandrasekhar – at a dirt cheap price of Rs 1,000 crore in 2005, compared with Rs 1.06 lakh crore received after 3G spectrum auction.
If Sibal, who is trying to rescue the government in the 2G spectrum scam, is found to have played a prominent role in the deal, it spells more trouble for the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).
Sibal, as a member of the Space Commission in his then capacity as Minister of State for Science and Technology, had sent a note that the deal was sealed by the Union Cabinet in 2005. Former Cabinet Secretary and the then National Security Adviser (NSA) MK Narayanan, now West Bengal Governor, and then ISRO Chairman G Madhavan Nair were other members of the commission.
Sources said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was briefed by Cabinet Secretary KM Chandrasekhar last year on the need to cancel the ISRO-Devas deal. The Department of Space under Singh, however, did not order the cancellation. Even the Law Ministry last year, in response to the cabinet secretary’s query, had argued that ISRO was within its rights to cancel the contract signed on its behalf by its commercial arm Antrix Corporation Ltd.
Devas Multimedia, the alleged beneficiary of ISRO, causing loss of over Rs 2-lakh crore to the national exchequer, was able to raise over Rs 600 crore only as equity from various sources after it was allotted scarce S-band spectrum. ISRO is under the Department of Science and is directly in the Prime Minister’s charge.
According to the balance sheet of the company, the total shreholder fund stood at Rs 67.5 crore as on March 31, 2007, which went up to Rs 578 crore in 2010, over eight fold jump in a short span of only three years.
The company has shareholding from three Mauritius based companies called—Devas Mauritius, Ltd, Telecom Devas Mauritius Ltd besides Deutsche Telekom Asia Pte Ltd.
Devas Multimedia has several directors from overseas and other shareholders and debenture holders in the company, which were given approval post facto, suggesting that certain foreign investment rules were overlooked. Above is the shareholders list, their addresses, board of directors and sources of the fund of the company as on March 31, 2010.
The Mauritius based companies — Devas and Telecom Devas, were issued convertible cumulative preferential shares on March 16, 2006 at a huge premium of Rs 21445.82, only a few months after the company was allotted scarce spectrum.
Since the allotment of the scarce S-band spectrum, the company has been able to raise several hundred crore and has also made investments in various mutual funds and in foreign and financial institutions. The company has also loss making US-based companies as subsidiaries.
According to reports, as per its agreement with ISRO, the company is entitled to get a total of 70 Mhz of the S-band spectrum on lease for 20 years. And this is for the first time that the scarce spectrum, which ranges from 2500 to 2690 Mhz, has been given to a private sector company.
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