India denies bias in satellite internet approvals after Musk’s ‘oligarchs’ jab

By Munsif Vengattil BENGALURU, Oct 8 (Reuters) India defended its satellite internet approval process as fair and non-discriminatory on Thursday, hours after billionaire Elon Musk accused unnamed oligarchs of blocking Starlink s launch in the ​South Asian nation. Starlink was being blocked by certain oligarchs in order to ‌maintain their monopolistic chokehold on the Indian people, Musk wrote on X, without naming anyone. India s telecom market is dominated by billionaires Mukesh Ambani s Reliance Jio and Sunil Mittal s Bharti Airtel. Their satellite internet ventures, alongside Musk s Starlink, have secured early approvals to launch ‌in ​India but are awaiting spectrum assignment and final ⁠clearances. Airtel and Jio did not ⁠immediately respond to requests for comment. The wait has stretched on for four years for Starlink, following scrutiny over security requirements and access to spectrum. Responding to Musk s comments, India s telecommunications ministry said three entities w