The CAG has criticised space agency ISRO for allowing a foreign private satellite service provider to park its satellite in an orbit slot meant for Indian satellites in violation of the nation’s SATCOM policy and extending “undue benefit” to a foreign firm.
In its report tabled in Parliament on Friday, the top auditor said, “In the course of audit, it was observed that ISRO allowed Intelstat, an international private satellite organisation, to place their satellite at 55E in an orbital location coordinated by the Indian Administration. The foreign satellite was also allowed non-Indian coverage...”
“It is evident that Indian Administration Coordinated orbital slots were to be used by Indian satellites. By allowing a foreign satellite to occupy the Indian slot, ISRO violated the country’s SATCOM policy as well as International Telecommunication Union’s radio regulations and thereby extended undue benefit to the foreign firm.”
The panel noted that ISRO had leased 16 transponders from Intelsat for one year from February 2003 to February 2004 as a stop gap arrangement to ensure continuity of services of the Indian Communications satellite INSAT 2DT, which had stopped functioning since 2003. It was then that the foreign satellite was shifted to the orbital location of INSAT 2 DT.
The CAG said that although the replacement of satellite to INSAT 2DT was later launched in September 2003, ISRO allowed the Intelsat satellite IS 702 to continue to function from the same location. The panel also observed that that ISRO signed another agreement with Intelsat in March 2004 as a back up to INSAT 3E free of charge.
“Intelsat was allowed to use INSAT’s ITU filings for non-Indian coverage. The agreement, initially valid for five years up to March 2009, was extended seven times up to August 2011.
“It is pertinent to note that there was also no existing practice in ISRO to provide backup to operational satellites,” the apex auditor said.