Narendra Modi likely to meet Musk

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to meet Elon Musk during his visit to the United States this week, and discussions may include Starlink’s launch in the South Asian market, two sources with knowledge of the plans informed Reuters on Wednesday. PM Modi is set to meet US President Donald Trump during a two-day visit to the US starting Wednesday, with trade and tariff concessions anticipated to be key topics of discussion.

Musk is expected to engage in individual discussions with PM Modi, and the Indian government anticipates that these talks may address Starlink’s postponed initiatives to introduce satellite broadband services in India, according to two sources who opted to remain unnamed as the plans are confidential.

Starlink has aimed to launch in India for some time and has recently been at odds with billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s firm regarding how the nation should allocate spectrum for satellite services. The government of India agrees with Musk that spectrum ought to be assigned rather than auctioned; however, Starlink’s licence application remains under consideration.

Ambani had advocated to New Delhi for a fair competitive environment, and his executives have expressed concerns that his telecom firm, which invested $19 billion (approximately Rs. (1,65,029 crore) in spectrum auctions, faces the risk of losing broadband subscribers to Starlink and possibly voice and data users as technology evolves.

In December, Musk stated that Starlink satellite internet was non-operational in India following the seizure of two devices from the company, one located in a conflict area and the other during a drug trafficking raid. The sources indicated that it was uncertain whether Tesla’s intended expansion into India would be discussed in the meeting, although boosting the procurement of electric vehicle parts from India will probably be a topic of conversation.