Former Indian Army chief questions reliance on foreign telecom systems

what happened

New Delhi, Oct. 12. Former Indian Army chief Ved Malik has questioned whether India should rely on communications networks controlled by overseas companies, Newsmetry API reports. He pointed to US sanctions during the Kargil War and Washington’s more recent trade measures. “With concern for national security, and my experience of defence sanctions imposed by USA during the Kargil war period and tariff and other restrictions imposed by US recently, I would not like to depend on any foreign-owned telecom system in India,” Malik wrote on X.

Malik was Chief of Army Staff from October 1997 to September 2000 and led Indian forces during the 1999 Kargil War against Pakistan. His tenure overlapped with measures imposed on India by the administration of then-US President Bill Clinton in May 1998, after the Pokhran nuclear tests. The sanctions restricted defence sales, military-technology transfers, financial support and exports of sensitive dual-use technology. Some remained in place when fighting started in May 1999, limiting India’s access to parts of the foreign defence-supply chain.

His comments come as SpaceX chief executive Elon Musk seeks Indian regulatory clearance for Starlink, the company’s satellite broadband service. Musk has attacked delays to the approval process and claimed powerful commercial interests are blocking entry, allegations rejected by the government. Bloomberg, citing the latest government data, said Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd. and Bharti Airtel together have roughly 910 million broadband subscribers, representing more than 80% of the market. Last year, SpaceX signed arrangements with Bharti Airtel and Reliance’s Jio Platforms Ltd. Bharti is among the biggest shareholders in Eutelsat Communications, which operates OneWeb, while Reliance is pursuing Jio Satellite Communications and a venture with SES SA. Jio, OneWeb and Starlink hold satellite-communications licences, though none has fully begun commercial operations. Bloomberg reported in June that security agencies had effectively halted final Starlink approvals over security concerns. The service has a licence but still needs security clearances and spectrum before going live commercially.

why it matters

The dispute puts India’s security review at the centre of the satellite-internet market. Approval timing could affect Starlink’s entry and the competitive positions of Jio, OneWeb and established telecom operators.

instruments