WHAT IS ANTRIX-DEVAS DEAL?
The Supreme Court upheld the September 2021 NCLAT order on 17 January 2022 to wind up Devas on a petition filed by Antrix Corporation Ltd and dismissed the appeal filed by Devas Multimedia and its shareholder Devas Employees Mauritius Pvt Ltd. Devas is a multimedia company. It offers satellite based services. Antrix is an Indian Government owned company. It is the commercial arm of ISRO. That is, ISRO launches satellites and provides technological assistance for private firms through Antrix. It is operated by the Department of Space.
KEY POINTS ANTRIX-DEVAS – DEAL
In 2005, Antrix and Devas signed an agreement. Under the agreement, Devas was to provide multimedia services to mobile users. The services were to be provided using the S – band satellite leased from Antrix. In 2011, this agreement was cancelled by the UPA government. The UPA government wanted the S – band for national security. Devas went to the International Chambers of Commerce and also to two BIT (Bilateral Investment Treaty) arbitrations. Devas also filed a case in the Permanent Court of Arbitration. The PCA ruled that Antrix has to pay 1.6 billion USD as compensation.
WHY DID INDIA CANCEL THE DEAL?
The scandal first came to light in 2011; the news reported that there were some irregularities in the agreement between Antrix and Devas. They reported the findings of a draft audit report and pointed out discrepancies including financial mismanagement, conflict of interest, non-compliance of rules, and favoritism. This revelation came at the heel of the 2G spectrum scam which was condemned for the high level of corruption.
How can a Canadian court order the attachment of Indian assets?
State immunity — a well-established principle of international law — shields a state and its property against legal proceedings in the courts of other countries. This covers immunity from both jurisdiction and execution. However, there is no international legal instrument in force dealing with state immunity in the municipal legal systems of different countries, which has created an international void. Consequently, countries have filled this void through their national legislations and domestic judicial practices on state immunity. Typically, prominent jurisdictions such as Canada follow the concept of restrictive immunity (a foreign State is immune only for sovereign functions) and not absolute immunity.
WHAT IS S-BAND SPECTRUM?
The S-band spectrum, which is part of the Devas-ISRO deal, is extremely valuable for mobile broadband services, in terms of usage as well as money. The frequency, also known as 2.5 Ghz band, is globally used for providing mobile broadband services using fourth generation technologies such as WiMax and Long Term Evolution (LTE). This frequency band is unique because it has a substantial amount of spectrum (190 MHz) that can be put to use for mobile services.
ANTRIX CORPORATION LIMITED
Antrix Corporation Limited (ACL), Bengaluru is a wholly owned Government of India Company under the administrative control of the Department of Space. It was incorporated as a private limited company owned by the Government of India in September 1992. It is a marketing arm of ISRO for promotion and commercial exploitation of space products, technical consultancy services and transfer of technologies developed by ISRO.
NATIONAL COMPANY LAW APPELLATE TRIBUNAL
The NCLAT was constituted under Section 410 of the Companies Act, 2013 to hear appeals against the orders of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT). NCLT is a quasi-judicial body that adjudicates issues relating to companies. It is also the appellate tribunal for orders passed by the NCLT(s) under Section 61 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), 2016, and for orders passed by the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) under Sections 202 and 211 of the IBC. Any person aggrieved by any order of the NCLAT may file an appeal to the Supreme Court.
RELATED: PM MODI LAUNCHED INDIAN SPACE ASSOCIATION
ISpA aspires to be the collective voice of the Indian Space industry. ISpA will be represented by leading domestic and global corporations that have advanced capabilities in space and satellite technologies. ISpA will undertake Policy Advocacy and engage with all stakeholders in the Indian Space domain, including the Government and its Agencies, to make India self-reliant, technologically advanced and a leading player in the space arena. ISpA will also work towards building global linkages for the Indian space industry to bring in critical technology and investments into the country to create more high skill jobs.
Other Related Organisations: IN-SPACE: Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN-SPACe) was approved in 2020 to provide a level playing field for private companies to use Indian space infrastructure.
NSIL: In the 2019 Budget, the government had announced the setting up of a New Space India Limited (NSIL), a public sector company that would serve as a marketing arm of ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation). Its main purpose is to market the technologies developed by ISRO and bring it more clients that need space-based services. That role, incidentally, was already being performed by Antrix Corporation, another public sector undertaking working under the Department of Space, and which still exists.
TOPICS TO BE READ IN CONNECTION:
- CAIRN ENERGY V. GOVT. OF INDIA DISPUTE
- VODAFONE ARBITRATION CASE RECENT MISSIONS OF ISRO
TEST YOURSELF
Q.1 Antrix Corporation Limited (ACL), Bengaluru is a wholly owned Government of India Company under the administrative control of the Department of Space is a marketing arm of ___________?
- Defence Research Development Organization (DRDO)
- Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO): ANSWER
- Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC)
- None of the following
Q.2 In which of the following years Antrix and Devas signed an agreement & under the agreement, Devas was to provide multimedia services to mobile users?
- 1998
- 2002
- 2005: ANSWER
- None of the above
Q.3 NCLT is a __________ body that adjudicates issues relating to companies?
- Quasi-judicial: ANSWER
- Administrative
- Constitutional
- All of the following
Q.4 Recently, which of the following eminent rocket scientists has been appointed as the Chairman of Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO)?
- Somanath: ANSWER
- Sivan
- Satheesh Reddy
- None of the following
Q.5 Which of the following is the First Indian Satellite that was built by the ISRO and launched with the help of the Soviet Union on 19th April 1975?
- Amazonia-1
- Cartosat-2
- Aryabhatta: ANSWER
- Kalpana-1
