Elon Musk's Starlink okay only after it complies with India's security needs: Jyotiraditya Scindia

Elon Musk-owned Starlink is currently in the process of applying for security clearances, which is part of the process for getting a license to operate satellite-communication services from the Department of Telecommunications, minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said Tuesday.

"They have to comply with all the rules to get the license. You have to look at it from a security perspective as well. We are more than happy to grant a license as long as they comply with all the conditions," Scindia said.

Presently, the government has granted licenses to Bharti Group-backed OneWeb and Jio-SES joint venture Jio Satellite Communications.


The minister added that there has been no decision made on the bank guarantee waiver requested by telecom operators, specifically cash-strapped Vodafone Idea. The official said the telecom industry has received a tremendous amount of boost in the last 2-2.5 years, and that any support extended to the industry will be on a sectoral basis, and not specifically for a company.