According to The Hindu, the 2005 agreement between the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)'s commercial arm Antrix Corporation Ltd. and Devas Multimedia Private Ltd. relates to ISRO's launching of two satellites for Devas but automatically bestowing on the latter "the large hidden benefit of unbridled use of 70 MHz of the scarce S-band spectrum over a 20-year period."
"Department of Space comes directly under Prime Minister, " said BJP spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman at a press conference in New Delhi on Monday.
According to the paper, the preliminary estimates point to loss of more than Rs. 2,00,000 crore (Rs 2 lakh crore) and the company can make huge money by subleasing the facilities since no restrictions have been imposed on that.
"This allocation has been done very quietly in the private domain. The firm Devas gets custom-made satellites and transponders. It is a serious scandal," said Sitharaman.
The BJP said custom made two communication satellite and 10 transponders will be used for commercial purposes and it is now just a loss of revenue, but also the spectrum is rare, a national asset.
"This agreement should be nullified, with immediate recovery," said Sitharaman.
The company in question, Devas, has issued a statement holding the reports inaccurate.
"There are factual inaccuracies in the stories reported, and Devas Multimedia has not received any communication, regarding the contract, from ISRO/Antrix or any other government agency. We do not own any spectrum, and the services we provide will be based on satellite transponders leased from ISRO/Antrix, wherein both – the satellite and spectrum – belong to the space research organization."
"Contrary to reports, 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," it said.
"With reputed investors backing the company, Devas has already secured permanent Government approvals and licenses to offer ISP services on its system, for which specific time-bound technical trials were conducted in 2009," Devas said.
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