Digital sovereignty outweighs Musk’s convenience

India’s long-term digital resilience depends on supporting domestic entities that have true skin in the game. Domestic operations are bound directly by Indian law, answerable to local courts and invested in the nation’s socio-economic stability

Elon Musk recently launched an offensive against India’s regulatory pace over his company Starlink, a SatCom service not getting the licence to operate despite compliance with Indian authorities. Expressing his frustration over delayed commercial approvals, Musk accused “oligarchs” of keeping a monopolistic chokehold on the Indian market, going as far as calling the delays a “crime against the people”. It was, to be honest, quite amusing to see a trillion dollars’ worth oligarch himself have a go at others, and a misplaced attack at that. While his ire was directed at the telecom companies that have partnered with him, his aim was to hit out at the Indian government. The government has rightly and firmly pushed back, saying that its regulatory framework is fair, transparent, and uniformly applied, and also confirmed that all major satellite communication licensees, including Starlink, Bharti Airtel-backed Eutelsat OneWeb, and Reliance Jio Satellite Communications, are currently at the exact same stage of security evaluation.

So why the tantrum? Does Elon believe that processes can be bypassed to accommodate him if he tries arm-twisting? It isn’t how this works! In fact, there has been a long-standing concern about allowing Starlink permits to operate in India. As part of the Standing Committee of IT & Communications, I had repeatedly expressed concerns about the IT Ministry and Telecom Ministry’s red-carpet welcome to Starlink. It took the Home Ministry to go through the checks and balances and rigorous procedures when dealing with strategic communication infrastructure, national security, and digital sovereignty. These issues must outrank the convenience of an impatient foreign corporation.

While Starlink presents itself as a simple broadband provider designed to bring high-speed internet to remote villages, beneath it lies a not-so-noble intent, because whatever price band that the SatCom is offering as per publicly available information makes it an expensive proposition. However, the concern is not merely pricing; the company is a vital asset for the American military and its intelligence apparatus. SpaceX holds highly classified contracts with US intelligence agencies to build robust spy satellite networks. For a nation like India-where an entity is deeply intertwined with a foreign military apparatus to control vital communication nodes without exhaustive vetting-this is a proposition fraught with risks.

Furthermore, the Ministry of Home Affairs and Indian intelligence agencies have also raised concerns over Starlink’s terminal vulnerabilities. Reports that Starlink terminals were active inside Iran during intense civil unrest-bypassing local telecommunications authority and monitoring-served as a major warning sign for Indian policymakers. If a US-based provider can have its equipment smuggled across borders and activated without state sanction, India faces a legitimate risk of foreign satellite signals spilling into sensitive border zones, where insurgent groups or external bad actors could exploit unmonitored communication lines.

The most compelling argument for India’s caution lies in Starlink’s turbulent track record in active conflict zones, most notably Ukraine. In the early days of the Russia-Ukraine war, Musk was hailed for activating Starlink terminals to keep Ukrainian forces connected. However, the limits of relying on a whimsical, single-source foreign billionaire quickly became clear. Musk famously denied Ukraine’s military request to extend Starlink coverage near Crimea to thwart a Russian naval attack, citing personal fears of escalating the war.

This arbitrary exercise of a geopolitical “kill switch” proves that SpaceX keeps ultimate control over where, when, and how its network functions, regardless of local sovereign needs. Furthermore, because Starlink’s primary satellite repositories, operations, and technical commands are based in the United States, the US government holds immense regulatory and strategic leverage over the company. If India were to face a critical border escalation with a neighbour, it cannot afford to rely on an infrastructure provider that might shut down connectivity based on the commercial interests of its owner, or under geopolitical pressure from Washington.

India’s rules demand that all user traffic must be routed exclusively through Indian gateways, data centres and core networks must sit within the country, and data cannot be decrypted or mirrored abroad. Furthermore, strict geo-fencing must prevent signal leakage across borders, and authorities must have real-time terminal tracking access to combat smuggling. If Starlink genuinely wants to serve the Indian market, it must patiently satisfy these rigorous security checks, rather than taking to social media to cry foul and bully regulators.

Finally, India’s long-term digital resilience depends on supporting domestic entities that have true skin in the game. Domestic operations are bound directly by Indian law, answerable to local courts, and invested in the nation’s socio-economic stability. Furthermore, tie-ins to local capability, such as the government’s mandate to manufacture ground equipment domestically and integrate India’s NavIC navigation system, will cultivate a robust private space industry alongside ISRO and IN-SPACe. India should welcome global competition to expand choices for its citizens, but it must not compromise sovereign control over the networks carrying its national data.

Our domestic space ecosystem is currently undergoing a vibrant evolution, driven by pioneering private launch firms, satellite start-ups, and ISRO. Foreign service providers are welcome to compete in India’s vast market, but they must do so by bowing to the laws of the land and the rules of engagement. India is not up for colonisation ever again or for new-age tech colonisers to dictate their terms.

Our domestic space ecosystem is currently undergoing a vibrant evolution, driven by pioneering private launch firms, satellite start-ups and ISRO. Foreign service providers are welcome to compete in India’s vast market, but they must do so by bowing to the laws of the land and the rules of engagement

The writer is a former Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha) and currently heads Women Led Futures at ORF; Views presented are personal.