Bangalore: The Mars mission should not have been a priority at this stage for India which, instead, ought to have devoted time and energy on getting its rocket operational again and give momentum to the human space flight programme, former ISRO chief G Madhavan Nair said.
"My personal opinion is: this (Mars mission) is not a big priority project for us. We should have concentrated more on qualifying the cryogenic engine (for GSLV-Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle) and make our manned mission initiative move forward," Nair told PTI in Bangalore.
The Union Cabinet on Friday night gave go-ahead to the Mars mission, clearing the proposal of Department of Space to put a satellite in an orbit around Mars to study the Red Planet.
Nair, who has accomplished 25 successful missions during his tenure of six years as Chairman of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and Secretary in the Department of Space, argued that for India, the manned mission (human space flight programme) is the "immediate priority"....
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04:59 PM, Aug 04, 2012
New Delhi: The Comptroller and Auditor General report on the controversial Antrix-Devas deal tabled in Parliament has called it "a classic case of public investment for private profit". The report comes down heavily on the Department of Space saying that in its eagerness, it concealed facts from the Cabinet and violated several rules. The report also has harsh words for retired ISRO employees MG Chandrasekhar and D Venugopal. The report...
02:21 PM, May 15, 2012
New Delhi/Bangalore: The Enforcement Directorate has begun a "preliminary inquiry" into the financial transactions that took place in connection with the Antrix-Devas deal. The Directorate's zonal office in Bangalore has begun the probe to ascertain if any contraventions with regard to foreign exchange or anti-money laundering laws in the deal have occurred. The investigation, which the agency will conduct with the help of the RBI and the Income Tax department,...
02:50 PM, Mar 13, 2012
Kochi: Upping the ante, former ISRO Chairman G Madhavan Nair on Monday moved the Central Administrative Tribunal in Kochi, challenging the government's decision to bar him from holding government posts for his alleged role in the controversial Antrix-Devas deal and seeking its quashing. In a petition, Nair sought quashing of chapter 6 of the September 2, 2011, report of the high-level team constituted by the government to examine the facts...
05:52 PM, Mar 05, 2012
The Law Ministry report says that a formal chargesheet should have been served to the 4 scientists. ...
10:12 PM, Mar 01, 2012
New Delhi: Putting moral pressure on the government, a Law Ministry report has suggested that former ISRO chief Madhavan Nair should have been heard before an order blacklisting him along with three of his colleagues for their alleged involvement in the Antrix-Devas deal was issued. The report accessed by CNN-IBN says that a formal chargesheet should have been served to the four scientists blacklisted by the government. Law Ministry sources...
06:40 PM, Mar 01, 2012
New Delhi: Former ISRO chief G Madhavan Nair has rejected the Law Ministry's claims that it gave reasons for blacklisting him and three others. Speaking to CNN-IBN, he has demanded a fresh inquiry into the Antrix-Devas deal. This came after the Law Ministry report said that the reasons for blacklisting were posted on the the website and that was adequate action. Following is the full transcript of the interview with...
04:05 PM, Mar 01, 2012
New Delhi: There is a new twist in the stand-off between the government and space scientists over the Antrix-Devas deal. Sources have told CNN-IBN the Law Ministry's report says that a formal chargesheet should have been served to the four former ISRO scientists blacklisted by the government. Law Ministry sources have told CNN-IBN that the scientists including former ISRO chairman G Madhavan Nair should be given a chance to put...
11:14 AM, Mar 01, 2012
New Delhi: Former ISRO chairman G Madhavan Nair has hit out at the government for failing to list out reasons for blacklisting him and three others in connection with the scrapped Devas-Antrix S-band deal. Speaking exclusively to CNN-IBN, Nair said he was disgusted with the Department of Space as he had not been told on what grounds action had been taken. He also said he would continue with his fight...
07:35 AM, Mar 01, 2012
Former ISRO Chief G Madhavan Nair has written a second letter to the Prime Minister's Office seeking a fresh probe into the controversial deal. ...
03:37 PM, Feb 26, 2012
New Delhi: Former Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chief G Madhavan Nair on Sunday wrote another letter to Prime Minister Manmophan Singh and sought a fresh probe in the controversial Antrix-Devas deal. Nair and three other scientists who were primarily behind the deal were indicted this month by Prathyush Sinha-led committee. Nair said he wrote the letter to the PMO sometime middle of last week accusing the Department of Space...
11:26 AM, Feb 26, 2012
Bangalore: Top aerospace scientist, Roddam Narasimha, who quit as member of the Space Commission on Friday said that he had requested Prime Minister Manmohan Singh regarding his membership of the body. "I have requested to PM regarding my membership." However, the PM is yet to accept it, he said. He added, "The action which has been taken recently (the blacklisting of former ISRO chief G Madhavan Nair by the government)...
08:18 PM, Feb 24, 2012
New Delhi: Top aerospace scientist Professor Roddam Narasimha has quit as member of the Space Commission, protesting government's decision to blacklist former ISRO chief G Madhavan Nair and three other scientists over the controversial Antrix-Devas deal. "We submitted the report after identifying the lapses and suggested measures to make sure that they do not happen again. We found no evidence of wrong-doing or fraud or personal gain. I am deeply...
11:01 AM, Feb 24, 2012
Bangalore: ISRO Chief K Radhakrishnan on Sunday rejected suggestions that the row with his predecessor G Madhavan Nair and his indictment over the Antrix-Devas deal has dented its image and cast a shadow on the country's space programme. Seeking to put the two-week-old controversy and its fall-out firmly behind, Radhakrishnan said the focus now is on missions and indicated that successful space ventures would redeem its pride. "I don't think...
09:05 PM, Feb 12, 2012
Bangalore: The ISRO row showed no signs of abating as former ISRO chief G Madhavan Nair on Tuesday hit back at his successor K Radhakrishnan dubbing as "another lie" the latter's claim that an inquiry was conducted into charges and lapses relating to the Antrix-Devas deal. Radhakrishnan, Secretary in the Department of Space (DoS), had said on Monday that a probe was held, noting the "detailed" letter of the Pratyush...
05:36 PM, Feb 07, 2012
The Centre has banned four ISRO scientists, including former chief Madhavan Nair, from government jobs over their alleged involved in Devas deal. ...
09:43 PM, Feb 06, 2012
Union Minister Narayanswamy says Nair should not cry foul as he had met Prityush Sinha before the report was prepared. ...
09:47 AM, Feb 06, 2012
Bangalore: The Pratyush Sinha-chaired High Level Team (HLT) has not just indicted former ISRO chief G Madhavan Nair and three other space scientists, but has recommended investigation into the functioning and operations of Devas since its inception. According to conclusions and recommendations of the five member HLT, Devas was established by Forge Advisors USA (FA-USA) in December 2004 (a month before it signed the deal with Antrix) with a share...
06:02 PM, Feb 05, 2012
New Delhi: Former Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chief G Madhavan Nair and three other scientists who were primarily behind the Antrix-Devas deal were indicted on Saturday night. ISRO on Saturday night released details of high powered review committee on Antrix-Devas deal. Some of the conclusions and recommendations of the committee are that there were serious lapses of judgement by several officials; in some case it even violated several norms...
01:31 AM, Feb 05, 2012
New Delhi: Private firm Devas Multimedia's petition to allow UN arbitration in the cancelled ISRO's Antrix deal is set to come up for hearing in the Supreme Court on Friday. Devas filed the petition under the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law after its controversial deal with Antrix on scarce S-band spectrum was cancelled by the UPA Government in February last year. The Antrix-Devas deal has been highly embarrassing...
08:22 AM, Feb 03, 2012
