Antrix, the commercial arm of Indian Space Research Organisation has moved a court in Bengaluru seeking directions to restrain Devas multi-media from proceedings with the arbitration it has filed against it in an international court in Paris on cancellation of agreement on S band spectrum allocation.
Will the much-hyped National Counter Terrorism Centre end up being just another agency to create jobs? Vicky Nanjappa tries to find some answers
Former Indian Space Research Organisation chief G Madhavan Nair and three other senior scientists, who were barred from holding any government posts, have been indicted by the country's top space body-appointed committee for acts of commission in the Antrix-Devas deal.
In a security breach, a woman posing as a senior scientist entered the Indian Space Research Organisation with a fake ID card and was in the premises for four hours before being arrested by the police.
A woman, posing as a scientist, was arrested on Tuesday by the Central Industrial Security Force, when she tried to enter the campus of the Indian Space Research Organisation in Bangalore.
"The duration of manoeuvre was 1,738 seconds. With this, Chandrayaan-2 was successfully inserted into a Lunar orbit," Indian Space Research Organisation said.
Seeking to fend of attacks on his credentials in the Indian Space Research Organisation row, the space body's chief K Radhakrishnan on Tuesday said probe reports on Antrix-Devas deal that led to punitive action against his predecessor G Madhavan Nair and three fellow space scientists will be released after getting due clearance.
The punitive action on January 13 against four scientists of the Indian Space Research Organisation in connection with the Antrix-Devas deal leaves many questions unanswered. It does however make it apparent that there have been lacunae in the functioning of one of India's premier scientific institutions, its commercial arm, and the overseeing body.
Modi said his government was committed to provide equal opportunities to all sections of the society.
Former Indian Space Research Organisation Chairman G Madhavan Nair on Thursday rubbished suggestions of a scam in the scrapped controversial Antrix-Devas deal and maintained that estimation of huge loss to the exchequer is "totally erroneous".
Even as the government acted against former Indian Space Research Organisation chief and three others in Antrix-Devas deal, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday sought to turn the tables on the Prime Minister's Office, demanding an explanation from the prime minister as to why no action has been taken against officials in his office responsible for the controversial agreement.
Taking action in the controversial Antrix-Devas deal, the government has barred former Indian Space Research Organisation chief G Madhavan Nair and three other eminent space scientists from holding any government jobs.
With plans for 60 missions over the next five years, Indian Space Research Organisation will develop a third launch pad at its spaceport at Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh to meet the growing demand.
Andaman and Nicobar police have approached the National Technical Research Organisation (NTRO), which deals with cyber intelligence, for detecting the computer from where the controversial footage showing semi-naked Jarawa tribal women originated.
For the second time, the Department of Space has declined to give details on why punitive action was taken against former chief Indian Space Research Organisation G Madhavan Nair in connection with the controversial Antrix-Devas deal, evoking a sharp reaction from the scientist who said there is "something fishy".
ISRO has to select astronauts, training them to withstand the space environment, and then bring them back to earth and rehabilitate them.
Amid its standoff with Antrix, Devas Multimedia has witnessed a change of guard at the helm with former Indian Space Research Organisation official M G Chandrasekhar stepping down as chairman of the company.
A recap of events that occurred in India in the past week.
The government on Thursday dismissed former Indian Space Research Organisation chief G Madhavan Nair's claims that he was not given a chance to give his views on the action taken against him in connection with controversial Antrix-Devas deal.
A senior official in the central labour commissioner's office said the efforts of the government were to resolve the cases amicably and not to press for legal action against employers. "Everyone is going through tough times. We could initiate legal action if we want but that's not the idea. We want to address the issues amicably," the official said.
Home Minister P Chidambaram indicated that the National Counter Terrorism Centre of India, the umbrella body which would deal with terror threats within the country is expected to get the cabinet nod within the next 15 days.
Over 32 missions -- satellites and rockets -- have been planned for the year.
India's premier space agency Indian Space Research Organisation plans to undertake 58 satellite and launch vehicle missions in the 12th Five year period and sees larger role for industries in realising these ventures.
Former Indian Space Research Organisation chairman G Madhavan Nair on Monday said he would file an appeal under the Right To Information Act by Tuesday seeking reasons for blacklisting him from government jobs even as he reposed faith in Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to revoke his ban order. "I will file the appeal on Monday or Tuesday (before the Central Information Commission)," he said.
Most senior scientists have complained of repeated questioning by the expenditure department, bureaucratic delays in clearances, more focus on procedure than on result and the lack of an environment for science to grow, reports Akshat Kaushal
The government is yet to take a call on former Indian Space Research Organisation Chairman G Madhavan Nair's request to the Prime Minister's Office to order an inquiry into the reasons behind annulment of the controversial Antrix-Devas deal and the procedure followed.
The Indian Space Research Organisation row has intensified with its former chief G Madhavan Nair writing to the Prime Minister's Office to order an enquiry into the reasons behind the annulment of the controversial Antrix-Devas deal and the procedure followed, in a fresh salvo at his successor K Radhakrishnan.
Though this is part of the divestment drive, government's stake in these companies remains 100 per cent even after the buybacks
A top aerospace scientist has quit as the member of the Space Commission to protest the government's decision to blacklist former Indian Space Research Organisation chief G Madhavan Nair and three other scientists over the controversial Antrix-Devas deal. "We submitted the report after identifying the lapses and suggested measures to make sure that they do not happen again. We found no evidence of wrong-doing or fraud or personal gain," Professor Roddam Narasimha said.
The RISAT-2B would replace the RISAT-2, which has been actively used by India to monitor activities in camps across the border in Pakistan to thwart infiltration bids by terrorists.
In an exclusive interview to rediff.com, Choudhary gives insight into why NTRO, which reports to the prime minister's office, failed to come up to expectations. He also suggests how India could tighten its security apparatus.
India is all set to give the go-ahead for an ambitious mission to Mars, expected in November next year, a top Space Department official said on Saturday. "A lot of studies have been done on the possible mission to Mars," Secretary in the Department of Space and Chairman of Indian Space Research Organisation K Radhakrishnan said.
Indian Space Research Organisation Dr Radhakrishnan, who has been accused of waging a "personal battle" against him by former ISRO chairman Madhavan Nair, refuted the latter's claims in Bengaluru on Monday. Nair and three other scientists have been barred from holding any government posts because of their alleged role in the Antrix-Devas deal, in which the private firm was allotted scarce S band spectrum by ISRO by allegedly violating rules.
A panel of the Indian Space Research Organisation on Sunday indicted former ISRO chairman Madhavan Nair and three other scientists for acts of commission in the $ 300 million spectrum deal between commercial arm of the ISRO, Antrix and Devas Multimedia Ltd. In an interview with Rediff.com's Vicky Nanjappa, Nair slammed the panel report and claimed that his name will soon be cleared.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Sunday attacked the prime minister on Indian Space Research Organisation Antrix-Devas row, questioning his "silence" and demanded that he must come clean as he holds the space portfolio while the Congress said that political parties should refrain from commenting on a "legal matter".
Picking holes in the high-level team report that indicted him in the Antrix-Devas deal, former Indian Space Research Organisation chief G Madhavan Nair on Sunday said it had "inconsistencies and inaccuracies" and attacked the Department of Space headed by his successor K Radhakrishnan for "cowardice" in releasing only "convenient portions".
The murky controversy raging over damning debar on former Indian Space Research Organisation Chief and secretary of Department of Space G Madhavan Nair and three other scientists is blamed on its current chief Dr K Radhakrishnan for misleading the government in the Antrix-Devas deal probe for a sadistic revenge.
Slamming the action against four space scientists over the Antrix-Devas deal without giving them a chance to defend themselves, former Indian Space Research Organisation chief Prof U R Rao on Thursday described it as "ridiculous" and indicated it might impact decision-making process at the space agency.
The Department of Space is in the process of getting clearances for release of reports of two committees on the controversial Antrix-Devas deal, on the basis of which former Indian Space Research Organisation chief G Madhavan Nair and three other scientists were barred from holding any government posts. This was announced on Tuesday by ISRO Chairman K Radhakrishnan, who is also the DOS secretary, in a brief statement in his first comments on the issue.
Former Indian Space Research Organisation chief G Madhavan Nair and three fellow space scientists against whom the government has taken damning action in the controversial Antrix-Devas deal were "thrown out like garbage", said Prof C N R Rao, head of the Scientific Advisory Council to the prime minister.
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