Antrix Corporation

Antrix Corporation Limited (ACL), Bengaluru is a wholly owned Government of India Company under the administrative control of the Department of Space. It was incorporated in September 1992 commercially exploiting ISRO's space products, providing technical consultancy services and transferring technologies developed by Indian Space Research Organisation to industry.[3]

Antrix Corporation Limited
Public Sector Undertaking
Industry
Founded28 September 1992 (1992-09-28)
HeadquartersAntariksh Bhavan Campus, Near New BEL Road,
Bangalore, Karnataka
,
India
Key people
Rakesh Sasibhushan (CMD)
Services
Revenue ₹1,700 crore (US$240 million)[1] (2018–19)
₹317.57 crore (US$45 million) (2017–18)
₹211.51 crore (US$30 million) (2017–18)
Total assets ₹3,065.65 crore (US$430 million) (2017–18)
Total equity ₹1,293.68 crore (US$180 million) (2017–18)
OwnerDepartment of Space[2]
WebsiteOfficial Website

History

Antrix Corporation was incorporated as a private limited company owned by the Indian government on 28 September 1992. Its objective is to promote the ISRO's products, services and technologies.[4][5] The company is a Public Sector Undertaking (PSU), wholly owned by the Government of India. It is administered by the Department of Space (DoS).[6]

It had dealings with EADS Astrium,[7] Intelsat, Avanti Group, WorldSpace, Inmarsat, and other space institutions in Europe, Middle East and South East Asia.[4]

It was awarded 'Miniratna' status by the government in 2008[4] and achieved a turnover of Rs. 18 billion in 2014–15.

Achievements
  • Successful launch of W2M satellite for Eutelsat.[8]
  • Successful supply of reliable satellite systems and sub-systems. Some of Antrix's better known customers are Hughes, Matra Marconi, World Space etc.
  • Successful Commercial Satellite Launches of SPOT 687 (France), Pathfinder & Dove (U.S), Tecsar (Israel) Kitsat (Korea), Tubsat (DLR – Germany), BIRD (DLR – Germany), PROBA (Verhaert, Belgium) aboard the ISRO's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV).
  • Execution of many IOT / TTC support services to International Space Agencies. Some of the customers using Antrix services are World Space PANAMSAT, GE Americom, AFRISTAT etc.,
  • LEOP support, IOT, TTC.
  • Successful launch of TecSar (Israel).
  • Two satellites; one from France and another from Japan were launched in September 2012.
  • Successful launch of five satellites, including French SPOT 7 satellite on 30 June 2014
  • UK based satellite launch UK-DMC 3 on 10 July 2015.[9]

Business agreement

On 29 January 2014, Antrix Corporation Limited (Antrix), the commercial arm of Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), signed Launch Services Agreement with DMC International Imaging (DMCii), the wholly owned subsidiary of Surrey Satellite Technology Limited (SSTL), United Kingdom (UK), for launch of three DMC-3 Earth Observation Satellites being built by SSTL, on-board ISRO’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV). On 5 February 2014, Antrix signed another Launch Services Agreement with ST Electronics (Satcom & Sensor Systems) Pte Ltd, Singapore, for launch of TeLEOS-1 Earth Observation Satellite, on-board PSLV. These launches are planned during end 2014 to end 2015.[10] On 29 September 2014, Canada announced that it has decided to give the contract of the July 2015 launch of its M3M (Maritime Monitoring and Messaging Micro-Satellite) communications satellite to Antrix during the inauguration of the International Astronautical Congress at Toronto.[11]

Satellite launches
Main article: List of foreign satellites launched by India

As of January 2018 ISRO has launched 209 foreign satellites for 23 different countries.[12][13] All satellites were launched using the ISRO's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) expendable launch system. Between 2013 and 2015, India launched 28 foreign satellites for 13 different countries earning a total revenue of US$101 million.[14]

Antrix launched 239 satellites between 2016 and 2019 earning a total revenue of ₹6,289 crore (US$880 million).[15][16]

Controversies

S-band spectrum scam
Further information: Indian Space Research Organisation § S-band spectrum scam

In January 2005, Antrix Corporation signed an agreement with Devas Multimedia (a private company formed by former ISRO employees and Venture Capitalists from USA) for lease of S band transponders on two ISRO satellites (GSAT 6 and GSAT 6A) for a price of ₹14 billion (US$200 million), a huge amount lower than market price, to be paid over a period of 12 years.[17][18][19] ISRO committed to spending ₹7.66 billion (US$110 million) of public money on building, launching and operating two satellites which were leased out for Devas.[20] Devas shares were sold at a premium of ₹1,226,000 (US$17,000), taking the accumulated share premium to ₹5.78 billion (US$81 million), thus getting a high profit. In July 2008, Devas offloaded 17% of its stake to German company Deutsche Telekom for US$75 million, and by 2010 had 17 investors, including former ISRO scientists.[18][20][21]

In late 2009, some ISRO insiders exposed information about the Devas-Antrix deal,[19][22] and the ensuing investigations resulted in the deal being annulled. G. Madhavan Nair (ISRO Chairperson when the agreement was signed) was barred from holding any post under the Department of Space. Some former scientists were found guilty of "acts of commission" or "acts of omission". Devas and Deutsche Telekom demanded US$2 billion and US$1 billion, respectively, in damages.[23] Government of India's Department of Revenue and Ministry of Corporate Affairs initiated an inquiry into Devas shareholding.[20] The CBI concluded investigations into the Antrix-Devas scam and registered a case against the accused in the Antrix-Devas deal under Section 120-B, besides Section 420 of IPC and Section 13(2) read with 13(1)(d) of PC Act, 1988 on 18 March 2015 against the then Executive Director, Antrix Corporation Limited, Bengaluru; two officials of USA-based company; Bengaluru based private multi media company and other unknown officials of Antrix Corporation Limited /ISRO/Department of Space.[24][25]

References
  1. "Antrix eyes Rs 2,000 crore revenue in coming fiscal". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 17 January 2020.
  2. "Annual Report 2017-18" (PDF). Antrix. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
  3. "Antrix Corporation Limited". isro.gov.in. ISRO. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
  4. "Antrix responsible for marketing ISRO tech". The Times of India. Retrieved 24 February 2013.
  5. "ISRO's commercial arm Antrix gets new chief". The Hindu. 9 June 2011. Retrieved 24 February 2013.
  6. "About Us". Antrix. Archived from the original on 4 June 2016. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
  7. "Successful launch for ISRO-EADS Astrium built satellite". The Economic Times. 21 December 2008. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  8. "In launch business". www.frontline.in. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  9. http://www.dnaindia.com/scitech/report-isro-launches-five-british-satellites-india-s-heaviest-commercial-launch-ever-2103531
  10. http://isro.gov.in/scripts/news-6-2-14.aspx
  11. "Antrix to launch Canadian Satellite". Retrieved 5 October 2014.
  12. "International Customer Satellites Launched". www.antrix.gov.in. Archived from the original on 25 April 2016. Retrieved 25 April 2016.
  13. "International Customer Satellites Launched". antrix.gov.in. Archived from the original on 25 April 2016. Retrieved 25 April 2016.
  14. "India says PSLV launches generated $101 million in commercial launch fees 2013-2015". SpaceNews.com. Retrieved 25 April 2016.
  15. "ISRO's commercial arm launched 239 satellites in last 3 years, earned ₹6,289 crore: Govt". The Hindu. 24 July 2019. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
  16. Narasimhan, T. E. (24 July 2019). "Isro's commercial arm Antrix Corp clocked Rs 6,289 cr in last three years". Business Standard India. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
  17. Sharma, Dinesh (6 February 2012). "Space-age scam: the media tracked this Antrix-Devas deal was equated to the Telecommunication Scam, which was taking place in India around the same time". Daily Mail. Retrieved 6 February 2015.
  18. Thakur, Pradeep (8 February 2011). "Another spectrum scam hits govt, this time from ISRO". The Times of India. New Delhi. Retrieved 6 February 2015.
  19. "Behind the S-band spectrum scandal". The Hindu. 28 September 2011. Retrieved 6 February 2015.
  20. Sharma, Dinesh (6 February 2012). "Space-age scam: the murky plot behind Antrix-Devas deal revealed". Daily Mail. Retrieved 6 February 2015.
  21. "The story of a Rs 4,400 crore fiasco at ISRO". The Indian Express. 8 October 2015. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  22. The Asian Age
  23. Jethmalani, Ram (22 August 2013). "Antrix Devas and the second generation scam". The New Indian Express. New Delhi. Retrieved 6 February 2015.
  24. "CBI registers case in the huge Antrix-Devas scam". Newsroom24x7.com. Retrieved 16 May 2015.
  25. Newsroom24x7


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