The Centre has rejected SpaceX CEO Elon Musk’s allegation that unnamed oligarchs are blocking Starlink’s launch in India, saying the country’s regulatory framework for satellite communications is fair and non-discriminatory.

The communications ministry said all three licensed satcom operators are undergoing security assessments and are at broadly the same regulatory stage.

The three licensees are Starlink, Reliance’s Jio Satellite Communications, and Bharti Enterprises-backed Eutelsat OneWeb.

“As such, the suggestion that the framework or its application is unfair or discriminatory is baseless and misconceived,” the ministry said.

The response followed Musk’s comments on X last night, when he alleged that Starlink was “being blocked by certain oligarchs in order to maintain their monopolistic chokehold on the Indian people”.

“You can guess who they are,” he added, calling the alleged obstruction “a crime against the people of India”.

Musk was responding to a post calling for Starlink’s entry to address gaps in rural internet coverage. He did not name the people he accused of blocking the company’s launch.

The ministry said the three operators have been granted telecom licences to provide Global Mobile Personal Communication by Satellite (GMPCS) services using non-geostationary satellite systems. However, licensees must demonstrate compliance with security conditions to protect user 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 said. All three operators are awaiting approvals to launch commercial satcom services in India.

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