NEW DELHI: A statement issued by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s office said categorically that ‘the question of revenue loss in a contract entered into by Antrix and Devas Multimedia due to lease of space segment capacity which would use S Band Spectrum does not arise and any such reports are without basis.

The statement said "this office has seen reports alleging loss of Government revenue in the contract. The Comptroller and Auditor General’s office and the Department of Space have already issued statements stating the factual position on the matter. It is further clarified that no decision has been taken by the Government to allocate space segment using S-Band spectrum to Antrix or Devas".
  
Earlier yesterday, the Department of Space clarified that the agreement entered into by Antrix and Devas on 28 January 2005 was already under review by the DoS and the government would take whatever steps are necessary to safeguard public interest. A decision on the matter is likely to be taken soon.

The CAG which is scrutinising the deal with Devas (owned by former ISRO scientific secretary M G Chandrasekhar) also said the investigation was at a preliminary stage. Devas sold a stake to a clutch of foreign investors, including Deutsche Telecom and private equity firm Columbia Capital, following the spectrum allocation. 
 
Devas was leased the S-band spectrum for Rs 6 billion. Isro was given the contract to launch two satellites for Devas too as part of the deal.

The Opposition attacked the government over the deal. The BJP and the Left parties have demanded a probe, describing it as a scandal bigger than the 2G spectrum.