The blacklisting of eminent scientists exposes the intense and murky turf war inside India’s premier space agency. Jeemon Jacob reports
THINGS HAVE changed at ISRO since 13 January,” says a veteran scientist who wishes to remain anonymous. That was the day G Madhavan Nair and three other senior scientists were tainted with the brush of suspicion for their roles in the Antrix-Devas deal. “All this media hype has had an adverse impact on us. We are not used to such things. Now I don’t know whom to believe and whom to curse,” says the senior scientist, due to retire within a year.
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From outside, Antariksh Bhavan, the Indian Space Research Organisation headquarters in Bengaluru, gives the impression of business as usual. Of course, security is tight and CCTV cameras monitor every movement on the campus. In the corridors, there are whispers about the ongoing witch-hunt and fault-finding missions.
A section of senior scientists who had close links with Nair fear they are already on the radar and could be persecuted for their proximity to the former ISRO chairman. “In ISRO, whoever is at the top can do lots of damage to your career. Our system works on the basic principle that the boss is always right,” comments another scientist. “There is not much scope for rebellion or whistleblowing,” he adds.
At the top of the chain is K Radhakrishnan, who took over as chairman on 31 October 2009 after Nair was told that there was no possibility of a fourth extension of his term. Radhakrishnan was at the time heading Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), Thiruvananthapuram, as director.
“His appointment was almost certain four months before he became chairman of ISRO. He was elevated to the post of Secretary to Department of Space before taking charge of ISRO. But we thought Nair had endorsed his elevation and that the two had good relations. Now people close to Radhakrishnan say this is not the story and that Nair tried to block his elevation to the prime post,” says a top Bengaluru scientist. But the present chairman has the right connections in New Delhi, it is said.
“When the decision of the Centre to ban four scientists (for their role in the Antrix-Devas deal) was intimated to ISRO headquarters, the administration department sent a messenger to Nair’s house to deliver the order, as directed by the present chairman. The messenger also told Nair that he should not visit ISRO headquarters after receiving the order. It was a show of power and authority,” says the insider.
Scientists who had close links with Nair fear they could be persecuted for their proximity to him
But the humiliation — as they perceive it — of renowned scientists is not the only repercussion expected. Devas has filed a case in the International Chamber of Commerce against the annulment of the agreement. “The government has cited national security as the prime reason for annulling the deal,” Nair told TEHELKA. “But it would be hard to prove this. The ISRO website reveals that the share pattern of the promoters has changed and they profited from sale of shares. So, if I’m accused of violating the norms and procedures while signing the deal, the same mistake was committed when the government scrapped the deal. Who will be accountable for the huge compensation we may have to pay in future?”
Q&A G Madhavan Nair Former Chairman, ISRO
‘Hang me if you want. But give me a fair trial’
UNTIL SIX months ago, Dr Gopalan Madhavan Nair, 68, was a celebrity scientist, known as the Moon Man of India. He was awarded a Padma Vibhushan in 2009, the year he demitted office after spending 42 years in the organisation. Among the 55 successful missions at ISRO, 25 were during his tenure. He tells Jeemon Jacob that he has been hung out to dry in the Antrix-Devas deal.
G Madhavan Nair
EXCERPTS FROM AN INTERVIEW
The Antrix-Devas deal has tarnished the image of scientists and reputation of ISRO. How do you look at it?
The Devas agreement was signed to bring advanced technology on satellite-based mobile communication for the needs of the country. Progress on the project was satisfactory and we would have got commercial returns at par with any other industry in the country if the project had been completed in time. More than that, the country had the advantage of a new technology platform in a sector that is growing day by day. The Government of India can scrap any contract. But while doing so, a procedure should be followed. You can fix Madhavan Nair if he committed a crime; you can crucify him if he is a threat to national security or if he sold this country. But give him a chargesheet and a fair trial.
What were the circumstances that led to the deal?
In 2000, ISRO and the Department of Space were authorised to bring private players into the satellite communication field. This policy enabled ISRO to initiate discussions with private players and provide them space capacity on first-come-first-served basis. This is clearly written in the policy document. At that time, Doordarshan and the Department of Telecom (DoT) were the only users. We started designing a high-power satellite that can beam directly to handsets. You need a matching technology at the ground level. Developing this technology would take lots of time and a cost of Rs 500-Rs 600 crore. In that context, only a firm from the US called Forge Advisors came forward. During the visit of former ISRO chairman Dr Kasturirangan to the US in 2003, they had detailed discussions on the topic. They signed an MOU. They came up later with a detailed proposal for a joint venture with Antrix.
Normally, such proposals are not accepted. We knew that if the foreign company becomes our partner, dealings will not be that easy and smooth. So we had Dr Shankara heading the technical committee, which had several reputed scientists who had evaluated similar proposals. They had almost 18 sittings. You must understand that at that time there was no other proposal or demand for tie-up. Forge Advisors set up Devas, an Indian arm with technocrats who were ex-ISRO scientists. That is how it came about.
There are allegations against you and fellow scientists that you sold S-band spectrum for a throwaway price.
You can blame me for selling cheap to Devas only if I had another offer for a better price. In this case, there was no such bidder or proposal.
Did you discuss the implications of the deal with DOS or with Space Commission members or brief the PM before signing the deal?
When the Devas deal was signed, I’d informed the Space Commission members orally. It was not a unilateral decision I’d taken as ISRO chairman but with a group of people who are experts. This is not the first time we have taken such decisions.
Was national security compromised in any way?
You can blame me for anything but not on this account. Devas had to get all clearances for operating the system on the ground. The control was with us and not with them.
While the BK Chaturvedi Committee was soft on the deal, the Pratyush Sinha panel and CAG blasted the deal. The BN Suresh Committee report keeps a distance from the deal. Why such differences?
The BK Chaturvedi Committee has already taken the view that there were violations of norms and procedural lapses but no mala fide intentions or criminal motives. The Chaturvedi Committee gave us an opportunity to explain our part. It was a democratic exercise. But the Pratyush Sinha panel exaggerated the statements and put the blame on a few of us for acts of commission and omission. If you scrutinise all three committee reports, you can understand the plot behind the final verdict. In our case, first they built a case, then fixed responsibility and finally awarded death sentence without a fair trial.
Do you think that some vested interests played a key role in trapping you in the Devas-Antrix deal?
‘Trapping’ is a light expression to use for the whole affair. I was butchered and hanged. Now I realise it was pre-planned and scripted. They have won for now.
So do you have plans to fight for honour?
I’ve written to Prime Minister and explained to him all the circumstances that led to the deal. I hope that he would take an appropriate decision after verifying all facts.
THE ONLY one among the four bureaucrats under a cloud who granted TEHELKA an interview was SS Meenakshisundaram, former Member (Finance) Space Commission & Atomic Energy Commission. This 1968 batch IAS officer was known for high integrity and vision when he was in the government, serving three prime ministers as joint secretary. After retirement, he has been a visiting professor at two institutes and is associated with a self-help group.
The Pratyush Sinha Committee has recommended action against him and three other IAS officials for their respective roles in the deal. “I retired from government service on 31 October 2004 and the entire episode started only in December with the registration of Devas,” he points out. He attended his last board meeting at Antrix on 24 December 2004, essentially to hand over his resignation. Papers relating to the agreement were introduced in the board meeting after he left. “Fixing me for procedural violation in respect of an event that took place after my retirement is, to say the least, unfair,” he says.
‘Who will be held to account for the huge price India may pay for annulling the Devas deal?’ asks Nair
The star wars between Nair and Radhakrishnan started soon after the latter took over as ISRO chairman. “After assuming the post, Radhakrishnan never wanted to be in the shadow of the former boss. In his new shoes, he became a changed man. From being friendly and unassuming, he started going systematically for the kill. Nair’s colleagues, who took him lightly earlier, had to face Radhakrishnan’s ire,” says an insider at the space agency.
According to him, the war started when one of the scientists who enjoyed great power was transferred just one month after Radhakrishnan took over. “Her transfer was a shock to all of us. She was a privileged scientist. But that transfer lasted only 24 hours and the chairman had to cancel it after his predecessor intervened. To our surprise, after another month, she was shunted out,” says a scientist. “It was a clear signal to others who thought he didn’t carry his past bruises,” he adds.
Then the murky Antrix-Devas deal hit the headlines. Radhakrishnan, knowing that whitewashing the actions of his predecessor and fellow scientists would not be easy, is said to have tuned his antenna to signals from New Delhi. He sensed that his predecessor was no longer in favour as several allegations against Nair were circulating in the corridors of power.
“Then, G Balachandran, a West Bengal cadre officer now listed for action under pension rules, was Additional Secretary and Member of Finance to Department of Space. He was close to Nair, but was the first to pick holes in the Devas deal as he was aware about procedural violations. The chairman used this opportunity effectively to nail Nair,” says another scientist.
However, there is another theory — that the present incumbent, to distance himself from the deal, appointed VS Hegde, former Scientific Secretary, as CMD of Antrix on 9 July 2011.
Meanwhile, the BK Chaturvedi panel submitted its report on the Antrix-Devas deal. Based on the report, the government appointed the Pratyush Sinha panel and the CAG also started its parallel scrutiny of the deal. Radhakrishnan scrutinised all files and correspondences concerning the deal and presented the facts without comment before different panels. “It was not an act of vengeance or setting a trap,” says a senior scientist working with VSSC. “His sole intention was self-defence. Reading the mood of the panels, the chairman wanted to clear his name. He knows the halo around Nair, and also knows he cannot match Nair technically or as a team leader.”
To be fair to Radhakrishnan, he has to project himself as a clean scientist, capable of leading ISRO with transparency and accountability. The Devas probe presented him with a golden opportunity.
The top scientists working at ISRO’s Bengaluru headquarters attribute another professional reason for the tug-of-war between the two successive chairmen.
After the present chairman took over, ISRO suffered two failures in 2010. One was on 15 April, when the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) mission failed at the cryogenic stage less than a minute after lift-off from Sriharikota space port. The other was on Christmas day, when GSLV Fo6 exploded just after launch. “Radhakrishnan was pinning lots of hopes on the mission,” reveals a top scientist.
With other missions facing delays, the ISRO chairman’s composure slowly disappeared. Failures are nothing new, and as a scientist he had seen the most ambitious missions failing. “But the timing of the failures was crucial for him,” says an observer.
The chairman’s insecurity led him to suspect conspiracies against him. “He developed a set of cronies to extract information from different wings,” adds another scientist. During this period, the noose was tightening around the former chairman. “Nair was not aware about it or he underestimated the changing environment in ISRO. He was slowly losing his clout in Delhi,” says the insider.
This is evident from later developments. After his exit from ISRO, Nair was appointed by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in 2010 to head a 16-member high-power committee to develop the Regional Transport Aircraft (RTA-70).
It was an ambitious project to build turboprops or jets with a capacity of 70-100 passengers. Since 2007, Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd and National Aerospace Laboratories were planning a joint venture to design and develop regional aircraft. NAL had several rounds of discussions with Canada-based Pratt & Whitney and US-based General Electric for an engine.
The NAL-designed RTA-70 is meant to ply short-haul routes and compete with planes of French-Italian aircraft maker Avions de Transport Regional (ATR), a leading exporter of turboprop aircraft to the Indian subcontinent.
In 2008, the Ministries of Defence and Civil Aviation had approved the plan and directed HAL to prepare a roadmap for the project. India’s entry in the RTA sector was received with great global attention. Major names in the aircraft industry sector like Embraer, Bombardier, Aerospace and United Aircraft Corporation held discussions with NAL and HAL. Since China had already developed an RTA, India wanted the project to be implemented on the fast-track mode.
Nair took it as a great opportunity and a challenge. The estimated cost of the total project was Rs 7,555 crore of which Rs 4,355 crore was earmarked for design and development and the remaining Rs 3,200 crore for the production phase. The Nair Committee submitted its report in June 2011, recommending government funding for the development phase and joint partnership with private partners for the production phase. But the Planning Commission shot down the proposal and wanted joint ventures for both phases. Moreover, CSIR dissolved the Nair Committee after submitting a feasibility report and appointed two more committees — one headed by Vijay Kelkar, former Finance Secretary, to identify industry partners for the joint venture and a technical committee headed by former NAL chief Roddam Narasimha.
The story did not end there. Nair was provided an office and staff in NAL when he was appointed as committee chairman. But after dissolving the committee, NAL told him not to use his office.
The Planning Commission shot down Nair’s proposal for government funds for building aircraft
“Later, Nair found that Radhakrishnan played a key role in shelving the project. Radhakrishnan and CSIR Director General Samir K Brahmachari conspired together to scrap the committee. The news shocked him,” says an insider, throwing light on the aborting of the project.
When asked about the RTA committee report, Nair was evasive. “I submitted the feasibility report to CSIR last June. We did a good job by submitting a report within a year of the constitution of the committee. It’s for them to act,” replies Nair.
In ISRO, there is no dearth of stories about these star wars in the stratosphere. Every day, new and colourful conspiracy theories are circulated and discussed. Insiders agree that the working environment has changed dramatically after the Devas scandal. Many scientists feel demoralised in this tense phase of one of the most prestigious organisations in the country.
Q&A Bhaskaranarayana Former Scientific Secretary
‘I’m paying a high price for dreaming like a fool’
LEAN AND tall, Bhaskaranarayana is known among space scientists as a loner and dreamer. This expert on satellite communication spent 37 years in ISRO in different capacities. He tells Jeemon Jacob that he will clear his name.
Bhaskaranarayana Former Scientific Secretary
EXCERPTS FROM AN INTERVIEW
How do you feel after the Union government blacklisted you along with fellow scientists in the Antrix-Devas deal?
I feel humiliated, cheated; depressed and slightly demotivated. I lived my whole life with dignity, concentrating on my missions. I was only worried about failing as a scientist. I never had time to enjoy life, to mingle with the outside world. But now I find I was treated like a secondclass citizen. All kinds of stories are floating, painting me a villain who ditched the country.
The majority of Devas board members and executives were former colleagues. Were you ever influenced by them to circumvent rules?
Your question hurts me. Why should I favour them — for money? Look at my house. It’s an ordinary house without luxuries. Coming back to your question: Devas chairman MG Chandrashekharan was one year junior to me. We had worked together in 1981 when he was working on the Indian Remote Sensing Satellite Series. He left ISRO in 1997 and joined WorldSpace. Like that, I know most of the people who work in my area of interest. Like artists know fellow artists, we knew each other. I wanted to put India ahead of other nations in satellite communications. Now I’m paying a very high price for dreaming like a fool.
Did anybody put pressure on you to clear the project in favour of Devas?
There was no pressure and no arm-twisting. Like many other proposals that came for our consideration, I objectively analysed it and found a great opportunity for India. In 2004, there was no 2G scam or spectrum auction.
Are you going to fight to restore your reputation?
At 67, I don’t have many more miles to go before I sleep. But the way in which I was dumped hurts me. I don’t deserve such treatment.
Jeemon Jacob is Bureau Chief, South with Tehelka.
jeemonj@gmail.com
http://www.tehelka.com/story_main51.asp?filename=Ne030312Dogfight.asp
