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Now, Rs 2 lakh crore S-band scam unveiling?

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CIOL Bureau
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BANGALORE: After a hard roll on 2G spectrum scam, The Comptroller and Auditor General is now behind another spectrum deal, the S-Band spectrum.

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As per media reports, CAG suspects a scandal bigger than 2G in the allocation of S-band spectrum, which runs into Rs 2 lakh crore.

The Department of Space and ISRO are reportedly under the scanner because the CAG has found that the deal was awarded without the invitation of competitive bids, according to a report by The Hindu Business Line newspaper.

The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has started inquiries into a 2005 agreement between the Indian Space Research Organisation’s commercial arm Antrix Corporation Ltd. and Devas Multimedia Private Ltd, it added.

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The company that allegedly benefited from the largesse, Devas Multimedia, is headed by Dr M G Chandrashekhar, who was earlier scientific secretary at ISRO.

Under the deal, Devas Multimedia is to get access to 70 Mhz of broadband spectrum in the 2500 Mhz band. This was once used by Doordarshan to deliver programmes by satellite to all parts of the country but is now considered to be of enormous commercial value for high-speed, terrestrial mobile communications. In 2010, the Union government got nearly Rs. 67,719 crore from the auction of just 15 Mhz of similar airwaves for 3G mobile services, said the report.

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).

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