Last year, the Indian government announced with fanfare and implied pride that it had granted Elon Musk-led Starlink a licence and a framework for spectrum allocation, paving the way for a smooth rollout of satellite internet service in the country.
Those were the heydays of India-US bonhomie, and the meeting between the Indian Prime Minister and the US billionaire in Washington was billed as a victory for Narendra Modi’s techno-diplomacy. But then things changed rapidly. Elon Musk turned out to be as much a loose cannon as former US President Donald Trump, becoming a source of persistent worry and annoyance.
Recently, Elon Musk waded into the uncharted waters where business and politics intersect in India, especially at a juncture when contentious, fractious political discourse peppered with references to “crony capitalism” is finding resonance. He took a dig at Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani by referring to him as “Prime Minister Ambani” on his platform X (formerly Twitter), insinuating that the businessman was the real boss pulling strings to block Starlink’s entry into India. A mischievous Rahul Gandhi, who has been a vociferous critic of Narendra Modi’s relationship with billionaire industrialist Gautam Adani and the preferential treatment given to him, piped in, saying, “Wait till you discover the other guy.”
After the initial impulsive, hasty, and enthusiastic welcome accorded to Elon Musk by Modi, the government developed cold feet as it began to think through satellite internet policy in general and Starlink in particular when viewed through the national security prism. The BJP is already obsessively preoccupied with regulating and controlling US-based social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and X, fearing it might lose its vice-like grip over agenda-setting and narrative building in the wake of changing political ground realities. It has earned global notoriety for using internet shutdowns as a law-and-order tool of control during mass protests and civil unrest — both of which peaked during the July GenZ protests against NEET and the ongoing protests against SIR in the national capital.
The Indian government issued an official statement clarifying that its authorisation framework was “fair and non-discriminatory” for all telecom service providers, including satellite communication services, implying that Elon Musk’s apprehensions were “baseless and misconceived.” It is true that the security assessment process remains pending for the other two applicants, Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel, who together constitute the telecom industry's de facto duopoly.
Elon Musk may rightly come across as a petulant billionaire, but part of his frustration stems from impatience after buying into Modi’s narrative of India being open to tech companies and offering ease of doing business. Starlink claims to have spent time and resources on compliance by building India-specific security controls, including data localisation (processing and storing data within the country).
Starlink has global reach, operating in over 160 countries and markets across North America, South America, Europe, Australia, and Africa. However, it is blocked or banned in nations like China, Russia, and Afghanistan. Besides India, a few countries like Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Turkey are yet to give regulatory approval for operations. In hindsight, India would not have found itself in this situation if it had chosen a cautious, guarded approach instead of bombast in matters involving national security.