Ex-Space official says US curbs forced secrecy in Antrix-Devas deal

What Happened

A former additional secretary in the Department of Space, who faced charges in March this year, presented to the CBI that the Antrix-Devas arrangement was pursued to secure access to new communication technology under the constraints of US-imposed technology control regimes. He stated that secrecy around the deal was principally to facilitate this objective. The individual is among the accused in the related corruption case, alongside other former ISRO and Devas officials and a retired IAS officer.

The deal involved ISRO’s commercial arm, Antrix, and Devas Multimedia Pvt Ltd. It was framed as a lease of two satellites for a 12-year period at a stated cost of Rs 167 crore, with Devas to provide multimedia services to mobile platforms in India using the satellites’ space-band transponders. The project was pitched as a way to deliver video, multimedia, and information services to mobile receivers across the country, using technology believed to be available in only a few countries at the time.

According to the testimony, India sought a technology-access path via the United States due to the regulatory environment, and a team led by ISRO’s then-Chairman visited the US in 2003 to explore possibilities. The witness said that exploration was treated as top secret because the target technology fell under US-controlled restrictions. The negotiations included a memorandum of understanding with Forge Advisors LLC, a US-based space business consultant, signed in 2003, with a person linked to Devas later among its founders.

The deal was annulled in February 2014 by the UPA government, which said the space spectrum was needed for security needs. After the 2014 change in government, investigations by the CBI and Enforcement Directorate intensified, and Devas and its foreign investors pursued compensation through international forums, sometimes winning awards for losses and investments alleged to have occurred. The trial against ISRO, Antrix, and Devas officials continued to face obstruction, including a shift of the special court proceedings to Bengaluru and a stay on the CBI’s appeal ordered by the Delhi High Court.