India slams Elon Musk after Starlink claim

India strongly responded to Elon Musk's allegations regarding his Starlink internet service being blocked in the country on Thursday. The tech billionaire claimed that unnamed oligarchs were blocking the service to maintain their monopolistic grip on the Indian population. However, Indian officials firmly stated that government regulations surrounding the launch of Starlink are fair and non-discriminatory.

The potential launch of Starlink has sparked heated debates in India over issues such as predatory pricing and spectrum allocation. In March 2025, Mukesh Ambani's Jio Platforms had agreed to a deal with Musk's SpaceX to provide Starlink's satellite internet service to its customers. Yet, the service has yet to be launched, and Musk posted on X that it was being blocked.

Musk claimed, "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!"

India's Ministry of Communications affirmed that the government has a fair and non-discriminatory authorization framework for all telecommunication services. The ministry made no reference to Musk but acknowledged that telecom licenses had been granted to satellite services as part of its commitment to enable satellite communication services in India. The ministry also mentioned that security assessments are currently under way for all three licensees and those entities that pass this process may proceed to the next step.