‘Baseless and misconceived’: Centre rebuts Musk’s ‘blocked entry’ charge on Starlink India

The statement from India added that the suggestion that the framework or its application is unfair or discriminatory was “baseless and misconceived”. File | Photo Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto The Ministry of Communications on Thursday (October 8, 2026) rejected claims that India’s regulatory framework for satellite communication services is being applied discriminatorily.American billionaire Elon Musk on Wednesday (October 7, 2026) alleged that Starlink’s entry into India was being “blocked” by certain “oligarchs” seeking to protect their “monopolistic chokehold”.Unfortunately, we are being blocked by certain oligarchs in order to maintain their monopolistic chokehold on the Indian people. You can guess who they are … This is a crime against the people of India!— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 7, 2026“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,” the press release read.The ministry added that, under the license's terms and conditions, each licensee must demonstrate compliance with security conditions that ensure the services meet various security requirements and protect all users and their data.“Security assessments as part of this process are currently underway for all 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 three entities are at broadly the same regulatory stage,” the statement said.The statement added that the suggestion that the framework or its application is unfair or discriminatory was “baseless and misconceived”. Published - October 08, 2026 10:44 am IST