Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to meet Elon Musk during his visit to the United States this week, with discussions potentially focusing on Starlink’s entry into the South Asian market, according to two sources familiar with the plans, who spoke to Reuters on Wednesday.
Modi is set to meet US President Donald Trump for a two-day visit starting Wednesday, with trade and tariff concessions expected to be key topics of discussion.
Musk is anticipated to hold a one-on-one meeting with Modi, and India’s government expects that Starlink’s delayed plans to launch satellite broadband services in India will be addressed during the talks, the sources, who requested anonymity, said.
Starlink has long been eager to launch in India but has faced challenges, including a dispute with billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s company over spectrum allocation for satellite services. The Indian government has aligned with Musk’s stance that spectrum should be assigned, not auctioned, but Starlink’s application for a license is still under review.
Ambani had lobbied for a level playing field, expressing concerns that his telecom company, which spent $19 billion in airwave auctions, could lose broadband customers to Starlink, and potentially data and voice clients as technology evolves.
“Musk is willing to provide assurances on India’s security concerns, including data storage locally,” said one of the sources.
Neither Starlink nor Modi’s office responded to requests for comment.
In December, Musk confirmed that Starlink satellite internet services were inactive in India after authorities seized two of the company’s devices, one found in an armed conflict zone and another in a drug smuggling operation.
It remains unclear whether discussions about Tesla’s planned entry into India will be part of the meeting, though increasing the sourcing of electric vehicle components from India is likely to be a point of focus.
Musk has long criticized India’s high import taxes on electric cars, and his team has held multiple discussions about setting up local manufacturing in India, though no plans have materialized yet.
Aside from Musk, Modi is not expected to meet other business leaders during his US trip, the sources said.
