Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet Elon Musk during his visit to the US and Starlink’s entry in the South Asian Market could be discussed during the meeting, Reuters reported, citing two people familiar with the plans.
Musk is likely to hold a meeting with PM Modi and the Indian government expects these could include Starlink’s plans to start satellite broadband services in India, Reuters reported citing two sources, who did not want to be named as the plans are private.
Starlink wants to start operations in India. The Indian government has backed Musk’s idea that spectrum should be assigned rather than auctioned. However, Starlink’s licence application is still being reviewed.
“Musk is agreeable to give assurances on India security concerns, which includes storing data locally,” one of the sources told Reuters.
Earlier in December, Musk announced Starlink satellite internet was inactive in India after authorities seized two of the company’s devices, one in an armed conflict zone and another in a drug smuggling bust, according to a Reuters report.
It was not clear whether Tesla’s entry into India would come up for discussion between PM Modi and Musk, Reuters reported, citing sources. However, increased sourcing of electric vehicle components from India is likely to be discussed during the meeting.
PM Modi is set to meet US President Donald Trump during his two-day visit to the US. PM Modi is travelling to the US after concluding his three-day visit to France. This will be the first visit of Prime Minister Modi to the United States since the inauguration of the second presidential term of President Donald Trump.
“Although this will be our first meeting following his historic electoral victory and inauguration in January, I have a very warm recollection of working together in his first term in building a Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership between India and the US,” PM Modi had said in his departure statement.
“This visit will be an opportunity to build upon the successes of our collaboration in his first term and develop an agenda to further elevate and deepen our partnership, including in the areas of technology, trade, defence, energy, and supply chain resilience. We will work together for the mutual benefit of the people of our two countries and shape a better future for the world,” he added.
