Elon Musk says "never on in the first place" about Starlink activation in India

India’s telecom ministry defended the country’s satellite‑internet licensing process as impartial after SpaceX founder Elon Musk posted on X that unnamed powerful interests were preventing Starlink from launching, claiming the service had never been activated over Indian territory. Musk’s comments came while Starlink, along with projects from Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel, awaited spectrum allocation and final security clearances despite having received preliminary approval years ago. The ministry responded that all three applicants are undergoing comparable security reviews and rejected the allegation of bias. The dispute is notable because Starlink’s entry could tap a market projected to reach nearly $2 billion by 2030, and the United States has highlighted the service’s availability as a goodwill element in ongoing trade negotiations with India. Recent incidents involving recovered Starlink equipment in drug‑related and military operations have also heightened security scrutiny.