Isro says the controversial S-band spectrum deal is not the reason for the restructuring
The website of Indian Space Research Organisation's commercial arm Antrix Corporation Limited was reportedly hacked on Sunday and the space agency said efforts are on to set it right.
The controversial Antrix-Devas deal will now come under the scrutiny of a Parliamentary panel. Parliament's Committee on Estimates has decided to examine the allocation of S-band spectrum by Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) with special reference to the Antrix-Devas deal, an official said.
Devas Multimedia has seized $87,457.47 cash that ISRO's commercial arm Antrix Corporation held in the US as it looked to enforce a $1.2 billion compensation it had won over a cancelled satellite deal, its lawyer said on Wednesday. Devas Multimedia America Inc had sought seizure of $145,000 but the actual recovery was $87,457.47 (a little less than Rs 70 lakh). This came after it secured a favourable order from the Eastern District Court of Virginia, Matthew D McGrill said.
Antrix Corporation, the commercial arm of Indian Space Research Organisation, has signed an agreement with US-based Space Imaging to market and sell data worldwide.
A US court has asked Antrix Corporation, the commercial arm of Indian Space Research Organisation, to pay a compensation of USD 1.2 billion to a Bengaluru-based startup, Devas Multimedia, for cancelling a satellite deal in 2005.
There has been no loss of revenue arising out of the Antrix-Devas deal as the agreement has been annulled, the Lok Sabha was informed on Wednesday.
Besides Nair, others named in the charge sheet include the then K R Sridhar Murthy, Ramachandra Vishwanathan and M G Chandrasekhar.
Court questioned the probe agency on delay in filing the chargesheet.
'I will say all this happened because of ignorance coupled with arrogance,' says G Madhavan Nair.
A team will look into the deal between Antrix Corporation and a private company for lease of S-band spectrum.
Devas says it has proceeded with the project after consents and approvals were obtained.
The Indian Space Research Organisation has bagged commercial contracts to build two communication satellites for European customers.
"All the 34 DTH transponders on INSAT satellites are fully booked," Antrix Corporation Executive Director K R Sridhara Murthi said.
'Devas will continue to pursue its rights and enforcement actions against India in courts around the world.'
As the crucial Budget session of Parliament begins, the UPA has a major chance to correct course. If it wastes it, it risks disaster, says Praful Bidwai.
The president and CEO of Devas, Ramachandran Viswan-athan said, "It is puzzling to hear about such a decision, especially as we have not been intimated. We have not received any communication from any quarter, government, Space Commission or Isro."
India's space agency has in its pipeline eight foreign satellites for launch and is scouting to acquire such spacecraft from abroad to expand capacity in the field of communication transponder back home.
ISRO, through Antrix Corporation, has inked commercial agreements with EADS Astrium of Europe to jointly make and supply two commercial communication satellites.
The Indian Space Research Organisation will launch four foreign satellites this year as it seeks to make further inroads into the international satellite-building and launch services market in 2009.
The Indian Space Research Organisation has entered into an agreement with a private company to set up automatic weather stations, the Lok Sabha was informed on Wednesday
Antrix, ISRO's commercial arm, is eyeing 10% of the $357 billion global market.
The Indian Space Research Organisation has refused to disclose the contents of letters written by its former chief G Madhavan Nair and others in connection with findings by a committee that went into controversial Antrix-Devas deal, saying they were "personal" that may impede process of investigation or apprehension of offenders.
This would be the 44th flight of the PSLV and the third launch by ISRO this year.
Heralding a new era, India on Friday night launched its heaviest commercial space mission ever with its polar rocket successfully putting five British satellites into the intended orbit after a flawless takeoff.
ISRO is focusing on more launches including that of a communication satellite from French Guiana next month.
ISRO Chairman Dr A S Kiran Kumar said there was no information loss following the alleged hacking of the website of the space organisation's commercial arm Antrix Corporation Ltd.
Unfazed by the Supreme Court upholding winding up of the company, shareholders of Devas Multimedia will continue to seek seizure of Indian government assets abroad to collect $1.2 billion the firm has been awarded by arbitration tribunals for cancellation of a satellite deal but are open for talks to settle the issue, their counsel said. "The decision by the Supreme Court does not change anything. The Modi government and the Indian courts cannot rewrite the facts. "Their flimsy allegations of fraud will never stand up in courts outside of India," said Matthew D McGill, partner at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, and lead counsel for several Devas' shareholders.
The polar satellite launch vehicle-C42 launch vehicle carrying the two satellites blasted off from the first launchpad at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at 10.08 pm.
The Indian State's arbitrariness may have come to be accepted with resignation within the country, but when it behaves in the same manner with external players, it gets a push-back, observes T N Ninan.
While New Jersey, US-based OrbitBeyond leads a consortium of subcontractors who have designed and developed hardware for deep space missions, Bengaluru-based Team Indus is leading OrbitBeyond's lander engineering, reports T E Narasimhan.
ISRO needs next generation launchers and new facilities to manufacture and launch them.
The ISRO is strengthening 'eye in the sky', which helped the Indian army carry out surgical strikes last year, with the launch.
The space agency has set 2020 as the deadline for the first privately built rocket to be launched into space.
The Indian space agency has already begun work on the third generation of the earth observation satellite -- the first of which will be ready by 2018 and boost the capability to generate digital maps.
Billionaire and Mahindra Group chairman Anand Mahindra along with top Silicon Valley investors Naval Ravikant and Balaji Srinivasan are backing space tech start-up Agnikul as part of a new funding round. Chennai-based Agnikul said, on Thursday, that it has raised $11 million in Series A funding round led by Mayfield India. It is the largest funding round for a private Indian space technology company in the country. Existing investors pi Ventures, Speciale Invest and Artha Venture Fund also invested in this round.
With the launch of GSLV-MK III, slated for April, it will be able to cater to bigger satellites as well.
The space agency launched 104 satellites, breaking the previous record of 37 by Russia.
The year ended with the launch of the PSLV's 50th mission.
While participation of start-ups in the space sector has largely been minimal so far, their involvement will be key towards building India's very own aerospace companies such as Maxar, Elon Musk's SpaceX and Rocket Labs, according to experts.
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