Explained: The Devas-Antrix deal and its aftermath

 A 2005 satellite arrangement between Antrix Corporation – the business arm of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) – and Devas Multimedia Pvt Ltd, a beginning up settled in Bengaluru, is at the core of a worldwide lawful tussle between the Indian government and unfamiliar financial backers in Devas. The tussle is an aftermath of the undoing of the arrangement in 2011 by the then UPA government refering to necessity of satellite range designated to Devas for security purposes.

On Monday, the Supreme Court maintained a May 25, 2021 request for the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) to sell Devas on the ground that the firm was made under deceitful conditions. The request came even as three Mauritius-based financial backers and a German telecom major have moved toward administrative courts in the United States to hold onto resources connected to the Indian government like those of Air India. The financial backers have won separate remuneration grants in global councils, including $1.2 billion granted by an International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) court on September 14, 2015. The Supreme Court has kept the $1.2 billion honor in suppression.

What was the Devas-Antrix deal?

 They marked an “Understanding for the Lease of Space Segment Capacity on ISRO/Antrix S-band shuttle by Devas Multimedia Pvt Ltd” on January 28, 2005, a month after Devas was fused in Bengaluru in December 2004 by two previous ISRO workers. Under the arrangement, ISRO would rent to Devas two correspondence satellites (GSAT-6 and 6A) for a long time for Rs 167 crore. Devas would give media administrations to portable stages in India utilizing S-band transponders on the satellites, with ISRO renting 70 MHz of S-band range.