The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament has criticised the Department of Space for avoidable expenditure of ₹17.27 crore on the GSAT-18 satellite, launched in October 2016.
The satellite, equipped with 48 transponders across three frequency bands (24 C Band, 12 Extended C Band, and 12 Ku Band), was intended to replace ageing satellites INSAT-3C and INSAT-4CR.
However, six Extended C Band transponders on GSAT-18 have remained unused since its launch due to overlapping capacity already available on GSAT-14.
The PAC noted that improper planning and lack of mechanisms to anticipate existing capacity led to these transponders being idle for 11 years until GSAT-14’s end of life in 2027.
