Ex-ISRO chief from government jobs over role in Antrix-Devas deal

Mangalore Today /CNN

New Delhi, Jan 25: Taking action in the controversial Antrix-Devas deal, the government has barred former ISRO chief G Madhavan Nair and three other eminent space scientists from holding any government jobs.

The action comes in the wake of the controversial deal in which a private company was allotted scarce S band spectrum by ISRO allegedly in violation of rules.

 

 

Nair, is the recipient of the Padma Vibhushan. He is the chairman of the board of governors of IIT Patna.

Nair during whose tenure the contract was signed, is among four top scientists who have been barred.

Besides Nair, K Bhaskaranarayana, former scientific secretary at ISRO, K R Sridharamurthi, former managing director of Antrix, commercial arm of ISRO, and K N Shankara, former director of the ISRO satellite centre, have been penalised by the department of space, an ISRO official said.

All four were penalised as per an order issued by the Department of Space dated January 13.

The contract with Devas was signed during the tenure of Nair as the chairman of ISRO. Nair was also the person behind India’s maiden moon mission Chandrayan I.

ISRO Chairman K Radhakrishnan is behind the move to bar me and three other scientists from holding government jobs, alleges G Madhavan Nair.

The government action comes after considering a report of the high--powered committee (HPC) that went into the Devas deal and that of another panel which examined the HPC report.

Nair also asked, "No enquiry or charge-sheet before the move; am I worse

than terrorists."

The Prime Minister had on May 31, last year constituted a five-member high-level team under the chairmanship of former Central Vigilance Commissioner Pratyush Sinha to examine aspects of the agreement between Antrix and Devas.