Panel submits report on Antrix-Devas deal

The high-powered review committee on the controversial Antrix-Devas deal has submitted its report to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh,the government announced on Saturday. The committee,which comprises of B K Chaturvedi and Prof R Narasimhan,was constituted to review the deal and suggest corrective measures,as well as to assign responsibility for lapses.

The Prime Minister has directed Cabinet Secretary K M Chandrashekhar to examine the report and make recommendations for follow-up actions. The Committee has submitted its report to the Prime Minister today. The PM has referred the report to the Cabinet Secretary for examination and to make recommendations on follow up actions. The Cabinet Secretary has been asked to submit his recommendations within 15 days, a statement by the Prime Ministers Office said.

Earlier last month,the government had recommended the scrapping of the controversial deal in which Antrix,the commercial arm of ISRO,agreed to lease most of the S-band space segment capacity to private firm Devas. The company was served a termination notice on February 25 after the government ruled that S-band was required for strategic purposes for armed forces.