Musk doubles down on Starlink India licence allegations; Rahul Gandhi says ‘wait till...’

Despite the Indian government's clarification on Starlink's licence and regulatory process, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has doubled down on his claims that his satellite internet company is being blocked from entering the Indian market.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi also responded to Musk's latest post on X, leading to a brief exchange between the two.

What did Musk say?

Musk, in a series of posts on X, alleged that "certain oligarchs" were blocking Starlink's entry into India despite the company's efforts to secure regulatory approvals.

In his latest post, Musk questioned why Starlink was still waiting to begin commercial operations in India despite being licensed in more than 165 countries.

"Starlink is licenced in over 165 countries and has spent five years complying with every single law and requirement of the government of India, so why still no license? Is Ambani the real boss of India?" Musk wrote on X.

He made the post while sharing a claim that the Indian government was more interested in protecting "crony capitalists" than the interests of citizens.

Musk had made a similar allegation on Wednesday night, writing, “Unfortunately, we are being blocked by certain oligarchs to maintain their monopolistic chokehold on the Indian people. You can guess who they are …,”

How did Rahul Gandhi respond?

Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi responded to Musk's latest post on X.

"Welcome to India, Elon. Wait till you discover the other guy," Gandhi wrote.

Musk replied within an hour, saying, "Thank you, Rahul. This is indeed troubling."

India makes stance clear on Starlink licence

Earlier in the day, the Indian government responded to the broader claims about the country's regulatory framework for satellite communication services without directly naming Musk.

"A post is being circulated on 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 said.

It said India has a "fair and non-discriminatory authorisation framework" for all telecommunication services, including satellite communication.

The government said licences have been granted to three companies providing satellite communication services based on non-geosynchronous satellite orbit technology.

"Under the terms and conditions of license, every such licensee is required to demonstrate compliance with security conditions," the government said, adding that the process is aimed at ensuring the safety of 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," it added.

Where do things stand?

Starlink already holds a licence to provide satellite communication services in India, but commercial operations have not yet started because the company still needs to complete remaining government requirements, including security-related approvals.

Starlink has received Global Mobile Personal Communication by Satellite (GMPCS) authorisation, while IN-SPACe authorised its first-generation constellation in 2025.

However, spectrum assignment and security-related requirements are still pending. Starlink has also renewed its push for approval of a larger Gen 2 constellation, including direct-to-device capabilities.

The three companies that have received licences are Musk's Starlink, Reliance Jio's satellite venture Jio Satcom and Bharti-backed Eutelsat OneWeb.

None of the three companies can begin commercial services until the required security assessments and spectrum-related approvals are completed.