The two had met in Washington DC during PM Modi’s visit earlier this year
On Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke with Tesla and Starlink CEO Elon Musk. The dialogue between the two covered various topics also including potential collaboration in areas relating to technology and innovation. This also included the topics they talked about in Washington DC earlier.
“Spoke to Elon Musk and talked about various issues, including the topics we covered during our meeting in Washington DC earlier this year. We discussed the immense potential for collaboration in the areas of technology and innovation. India remains committed to advancing our partnerships with the US in these domains,” said PM Modi on X.
PM Modi earlier met Musk in February during his visit to the Washington DC and both sides discussed about working together in matters such as space, renewable energy and electric vehicles.
Billionaire Elon Musk is the Head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in US.
This comes at a time when Elon Musk’s Tesla and Starlink have shown eager interest to enter the Indian market. It also comes against the backdrop of ongoing negotiations for a proposed bilateral trade agreement between New Delhi and Washington. The two factions have aimed at finalising the first phase of the pact by this fall (September-October) this year.
The company waits for clarity on the government’s upcoming spectrum policy. The company also awaits permission for security clearance.
In March, Reliance Jio announced a pact with Elon Musk’s SpaceX to bring Starlink satellite internet services in India. Bharti Airtel has also signed a similar partnership deal with SpaceX.
Meanwhile, the government has already granted license to Starlink rivals Bharti Group-backed Eutelsat OneWeb and Jio Satellite Communications for about one-and-a-half years for providing satellite internet services.
However, these companies are yet to start their operation as the government has not yet finalised spectrum allocation rules.
Starlink is considered to be a titan in this segment as it operates the world’s biggest constellation of over 6,750 satellites whereas Eutelsat OneWeb has little over 600 satellites and Jio’s satellite partners operate nearly 70.
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