<p>"They (ISRO) committed a mistake, the government has corrected it," Antony told reporters, shortly after the government scrapped the deal on the allocation of S-band spectrum, high value and scarce radio waves.<br /><br />Antony said the defence ministry was not consulted on the deal that triggered a major controversy after the media, citing the government auditor's findings, reported that the agreement for handing over 70 Mhz of S-Band spectrum to the private firm for Rs.1,000 crore had resulted in a loss of Rs.2 lakh crore to the nation.<br /><br />"We (the defence ministry) were not consulted. The S-band is mainly for strategic forces in which our army, navy and the air force have a major stake because it is a precious asset for us," he said.</p>.<p>The defence minister said the availability of S-band radio waves was "limited and it has to be given mainly for strategic aspects". </p>.<p>"That is the first priority. It (the deal) was unfortunate," he said.</p>.<p>The deal, finalised in 2005 without any competitive bidding, was under review for the past many days by the government and the space department before it was annulled Thursday.</p>
<p>"They (ISRO) committed a mistake, the government has corrected it," Antony told reporters, shortly after the government scrapped the deal on the allocation of S-band spectrum, high value and scarce radio waves.<br /><br />Antony said the defence ministry was not consulted on the deal that triggered a major controversy after the media, citing the government auditor's findings, reported that the agreement for handing over 70 Mhz of S-Band spectrum to the private firm for Rs.1,000 crore had resulted in a loss of Rs.2 lakh crore to the nation.<br /><br />"We (the defence ministry) were not consulted. The S-band is mainly for strategic forces in which our army, navy and the air force have a major stake because it is a precious asset for us," he said.</p>.<p>The defence minister said the availability of S-band radio waves was "limited and it has to be given mainly for strategic aspects". </p>.<p>"That is the first priority. It (the deal) was unfortunate," he said.</p>.<p>The deal, finalised in 2005 without any competitive bidding, was under review for the past many days by the government and the space department before it was annulled Thursday.</p>