Elon Musk hits out at ‘certain oligarchs’ for blocking Starlink in India

Elon Musk accused Indian billionaires Mukesh Ambani and Sunil Bharti Mittal of blocking Starlink's entry into the country, calling it a "monopolistic chokehold" over India's people. The criticism came after Starlink faced delays in obtaining final approval despite spending five years complying with Indian regulations. Reliance Jio Infocomm and Bharti Airtel together control roughly 910 million broadband subscribers, or more than 80% of the country’s market. In response, India's Ministry of Communications defended its satellite internet approval process as fair and non-discriminatory, stating that three entities are at a similar regulatory stage awaiting security clearances and spectrum allocation. The dispute highlights competition in India’s satellite internet market and concerns over regulatory hurdles and potential political interference affecting global tech giants like Starlink.