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Minister of State for Communications Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani on Friday said the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) assesses the national security risks and advantages of all satellite communication companies, responding to the controversy over Elon Musk's allegations that Starlink's licence was being blocked in India by vested interests.
Pemmasani clarified that the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) had no issue with providing provisional spectrum, but national security clearance remained part of the approval process for satellite communication services. As far as we are concerned, we don't have any issue from the DOT perspective, either providing a provisional spectrum and all that stuff, Pemmasani said. Explaining the roles of different departments, he said the DoT examines the requirements for granting licences, while national security clearance is handled by the MHA. The MHA takes a 360 degree about the national interest and then grants license, he said. Pemmasani stressed that the assessment was not limited to Starlink or any single operator, but covered satellite communication companies more broadly. It is not about one satellite company, it is about all the satellite companies and the risks and advantages of those, he said. His remarks come after Musk, the head of SpaceX and Starlink, alleged that the company was being blocked by powerful business interests despite spending five years complying with Indian requirements. Union Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia also rejected allegations of preferential treatment, saying India did not allow a monopoly in any sector and that three companies -- Reliance Jio, OneWeb and Starlink -- had licences for satellite communication services. He had also said the government was close to finalising the pricing framework for the sector. Scindia had clarified that each operator would have to fulfil security requirements individually before proceeding towards commercial operations. Against this backdrop, the Ministry of Communications had earlier rejected allegations of unfair treatment, saying all three licensed operators were at broadly the same regulatory stage. It said security assessments were under way for all three and that each could proceed to the next step of seeking spectrum assignment after completing the required process. The next steps for the operators will depend on the finalisation of the pricing framework and fulfilment of security requirements before they can seek spectrum assignment and move towards launching services. (ANI)
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