Will Modi meeting Elon Musk help Starlink's chances in India?

Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to social media on Friday to announce that he discussed avenues of collaboration in technology and innovation with SpaceX founder and multi-billionaire Elon Musk, during a time when Starlink aims at India launch.

"Spoke to @elonmusk and talked about various issues, including the topics we covered during our meeting in Washington, D.C., earlier this year. We discussed the immense potential for collaboration in the areas of technology and innovation," Modi posted on X, the social media platform owned by Musk.

Modi also assured that India remained committed to advancing its partnerships with the US in the domains of technology and innovation. 

But what does mean for the country, with Musk being one of the influential people in the Donald Trump administration? The Tesla CEO founder is also at the helm of the US Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

The announcement by Modi came just two days after Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal met a Starlink delegation. Starlink is a SpaceX arm that focuses on satellite internet services. Goyal is said to have discussed existing partnerships and future investment plans in the country.

To this effect, Goyal posed on X on Wednesday, "Met a delegation from @Starlink, comprising of Vice President Chad Gibbs & Senior Director, Ryan Goodnight. Discussions covered Starlink's cutting-edge technology platform, their existing partnerships and future investment plans in India."

Last month, Reliance Jio and Airtel—India's top telecom players—announced they inked separate deals to bring Starlink satellite internet services to the country.

Modi's comments and Goyal's meeting comes at a time when Starlink is facing regulatory issues in India, especially when India and the US are busy zeroing in on the proposed bilateral trade agreement.

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