Scindia says India does not allow monopoly in any sector amid Elon Musk's allegations

Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Friday dismissed Elon Musks allegations and said India does not allow monopoly in any sector including the satellite communications space he added that the three entities who have received the satellite communications licences can start the operations after meeting the requisite security requirements according to news agenciesHis remarks come after Musk in a social media post on X had alleged that his Starlinks satellite communications services were being blocked by certain oligarchs who want to maintain their monopolistic chokehold on the Indian peopleLet me be very clear India does not allow a monopoly in any sector And therefore even as Satcom is concerned there is not a single licensee that has been chosen Licenses have been given to everyone who wants to provide these licenses And today there are three licenses that are out there There is a lot of conversation about a particular party But there are three parties that have got licenses Scindia said at a briefing at India Mobile CongressLet me set the record straight For us the Department of Telecommunications we are technology agnostic Our job is to be able to provide the bouquet of services to every single customer It is for the customer to choose in a free market which service he or she prefers and within that service bouquet which companys service he or she prefers he addedSatcom providers can start services after security clearancesThe minister said Musks Starlink Reliance Jios satellite venture Jio Satcom and Bharti Groupbacked Eutelsat OneWeb have secured licences while Amazons Kuiper has expressed interest and will need to undergo the established procedureWe are very clear on our stand There are three parties that have got a licence as and when the government decides the charge system on the revenue basis that spectrum will be assigned to them and as and when they individually fulfil security conditions then they can start operations Scindia saidRevenue charges system is finalised once each one of these parties party A B and C all three individually based on their achievement of milestones with regard to security concerns and prerequisites have fulfilled the requirements then obviously they can start operations But that has to be a compliance that is done by each one of them individually he addedSatcom spectrum pricingHe further said the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India TRAI and the telecom department are close to a final decision on pricing regime for satcom spectrumInitially whether spectrum will be assigned or auctioned that decision was taken Secondly irrespective post that administrative assignment what the pricing regime will be And TRAI and DOT have been in conversations on that We are close to taking the final decision with respect to that And the third has to do with security requirements and requisites being followed he saidHits back at CongressTaking a dig at Congress party amid Rahul Gandhi and Elon Musks exchange on X the minister said As far as the Congress party is concerned I dont think they themselves know whether theyre going left or rightHe said that the opposition political party initially had a problem with a certain person getting a licence and said Now they have a problem and theyve allied with that person in terms of why hes not getting a licenseSo I dont know whether they have clarity on where theyre going but that is the case with the Congress which is to be expected Scindia saidMusk says Ambani is the real boss of IndiaThe Indian government on Thursday had rejected Musks allegations and had said the countrys authorisation framework for telecom and satellite services was fair and nondiscriminatory and that any suggestion that it was being applied selectively was baseless and misconceivedHowever in another Post Musk said his firm had been complying for the last five years with the government and had said Ambani is the real boss of IndiaStarlink is licensed in over 165 countries and has spent five years complying with every single law and requirement of the government of India so why still no license Musk had saidWith inputs from ANI and PTI