Indian Economy

17

The S-Band Scam

Introduction

The S-Band scam pertains to the allocation of the so-called S-Band spectrum, a precious resource to a private sector company by name Devas Multimedia for a 20-year period by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) without any covert bidding. The  Comptroller & the Auditor General (CAG) smelt a scandal thus at become public knowledge. 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 67,789 crore from the auction ...