Will the Minister of SPACE be pleased to state:-

(a) the total amount of profit earned by Antrix Corporation (AC), a subsidiary of ISRO, during the year 2006 and 2007;

(b) whether the Antrix Corporations gifted gold coins to its staff and the staff of various other organizations;

(c) if so, the details thereof and the reasons therefor;

(d) whether the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) has banned giving of the gifts to the staff;

(e) if so, the reasons for violating CVC guidelines;

(f) the level on which the decision to provide gift was taken; and

(g) the corrective steps taken by the Government in this regard?
ANSWER: MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRIES OF PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS, PERSONNEL, PUBLIC GRIEVANCES & PENSIONS AND IN PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE (SHRI V. NARAYANASAMY):

(a) The net profit before tax of Antrix Corporation Ltd., for the year 2006-07 and 2007-08 is ` 159.19 crore and ` 261.10 crore respectively.

(b) & (c) Yes, Sir. For all the permanent employees of ISRO, DOS & Antrix, gold coins (of 4gms) were distributed in 2007 as a token of appreciation for the contribution made for the growth of company.

(d) & (e) CVC have issued guidelines discouraging the practice of giving gifts to the Central Government employees on the occasion of festivals and New Year. The Gold coins were given to the employees of ISRO/DOS/Antrix, on the 15th Anniversary of Antrix, as a token of appreciation of their dedication and contribution to the high performance of the company, as a matter of business promotion.

(f) The proposal to give gold coin was approved by Antrix Board of Directors, the apex management body for the Antrix Corporation.

(g) There was an observation from Audit that since the DOS/ISRO employees were permanent Government servants and they were also eligible for special cash incentives at the time of every successful launch of Satellites, the giving of gifts to Government employees was not justified. The Antrix Corporation Ltd., have taken note of the Audit findings and recommendations thereon for compliance.

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