'Baseless and misconceived': India issues statement after Elon Musk's 'oligarchs' claim over Starlink delay

The Ministry of Communications has unequivocally stated its position on the regulatory framework for satellite communication services. The Ministry said that India's policies in this sphere are fair and non-discriminatory. This comes after Tesla boss Elon Musk has accused certain unnamed ‘oligarchs’ of blocking Starlink’s entry into India, alleging that they are trying to protect their “monopolistic chokehold” over the country’s people. Musk made the remarks on Wednesday (Oct 7) in a post on X while responding to a post citing government data that 11,256 listed villages lacked 4G coverage as of May 2026. He has previously said Starlink could help connect rural and underserved parts of India. “Unfortunately, we are being blocked by certain oligarchs to maintain their monopolistic chokehold on the Indian people. You can guess who they are …,” Musk said in the post.

What is India's statement?

The statement issued by the Press Information Bureau (PIB) and the Ministry of Communications, stated, "A post is being circulated in social media regarding the fairness of India’s regulatory framework for satellite communication services and suggesting that it is being applied in a discriminatory manner. The Government has put in place a fair and non-discriminatory authorisation framework for all telecommunication services, including satellite communication services. Under this, telecom licences have been granted to three Global Mobile Personal Communication by Satellite services based on non-geosynchronous satellite orbit based satellite communications, as part of its commitment to enable provision of satellite communication services in India. Under the terms and conditions of license, every such licensee is required to demonstrate compliance with security conditions. This is aimed at ensuring that services provided meet various security requirements to ensure safety of all users and their data. Security assessment as part of this process is currently under way in respect of all the three licensees. As and when this process is completed for a licensed entity, it may proceed to the next step of seeking assignment of spectrum." "At present, all the three entities are at broadly the same regulatory stage. As such, the suggestion that the framework or its application is unfair or discriminatory is baseless and misconceived," the statement added.

Earlier, on October 7, Vice President, Starlink Business Operations Lauren Dreyer, while speaking at India Mobile Congress 2026, said the company had developed India-specific security controls and has built 20 gateway sites in India, adding, the company is “keeping Indian users’ data within India.” Dreyer said Starlink has invested in building the infrastructure required to serve the Indian market. The Indian government has granted licences to three satellite communication companies, including Starlink, to offer services in the country. “We've built our Starlink operations specifically for India in recognition of Indian security requirements and other regulations, establishing controls at every layer for India, and keeping Indian user data within India,” she said.