Musk vs India: Parliament Committee to study satellite Internet as Starlink debate heats up
A parliamentary panel will examine satellite broadband as the Starlink row grows. RSS wing SJM has raised security concerns and the govt says follow Indian law
PTC Wed Desk: A parliamentary committee has decided to take a close look at satellite broadband in India, at a time when Elon Musk’s Starlink is at the centre of a growing row over its plans to operate in the country.
The Standing Committee on Communications and Information Technology made the decision on Wednesday. Committee chairman and BJP MP from Godda, Nishikant Dubey, said members had picked satellite Internet as one of the subjects for study at their meeting.
Starlink is not the only company waiting for permission. Eutelsat OneWeb, backed by Sunil Bharti Mittal, and Reliance’s Jio Satcom have also applied for licences. For now, most broadband and mobile data in India is delivered through ground-based telecom networks.
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The timing is notable. Just a day earlier, the RSS, the ideological parent of the BJP, took a firm stand against Starlink and asked the government to stop the company from entering India.
Government: Follow Indian law
Top government sources said satellite communication firms must follow Indian laws and rules if they want to operate here. This includes setting up ground infrastructure such as base stations linked to the national security system.
Musk has lately criticised India’s regulatory framework in posts on X, and sources responded sharply. “From the day they applied, the government’s position has been very clear. If you want to do business in India, you have to follow Indian law,” a source said.
Explaining the need for a base station, the sources said authorities must have a physical presence in the country to monitor services and enforce rules in a given area.
Musk, who heads SpaceX, Starlink’s parent company, recently accused industrialist Mukesh Ambani of having a “monopolistic chokehold” on the Indian market. The government rejected this and said its authorisation framework is fair and non-discriminatory for all telecom services, including satellite communication.
Swadeshi Jagran Manch raises security concerns
The RSS-linked Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM), which is expected to appear before the panel, said Starlink satellites can talk to each other through laser links.
SJM national co-convener Ashwani Mahajan said the worry is that internet traffic could skip Indian gateways and pass through foreign systems, making lawful monitoring harder. “The government wants Indian traffic routed through gateways within India,” he said.
He added that the issue matters more because the country faces several law-and-order challenges and social media can spread false narratives. According to the SJM, authorities often need to shut down internet services during separatist activity, terror incidents, riots or protests and Starlink’s entry could make that difficult. It also warned that hostile groups, smugglers or insurgents could use satellite internet to communicate outside regular telecom networks.