NEW DELHI: India is not inclined to extend any special treatment or relax regulatory requirements for Elon Musk’s Starlink amid deepening strains in bilateral ties, maintaining that American businesses must follow the same rules and security procedures as other companies operating in the country.
With Washington tightening restrictions on Indian IT companies and professionals, New Delhi sees little reason to show special sensitivity towards US business interests, sources said.
“India-US relations have nose-dived. But we will do what is right for our people,” a source tracking the matter told businessline. While special favours may be off the table, routine commercial dealings and business engagements between the two economies are expected to continue as usual, the source added.
The source pointed out that Starlink was being treated equally to other satellite service providers, including Eutelsat OneWeb and Jio-SES, and would have to complete the entire compliance process wherever security regulations applied. “Companies could not be allowed to go through only part of the process and claim that it was sufficient”, they said.
Musk alleged on his social media platform `X’ that certain “oligarchs” were blocking Starlink to maintain a monopolistic chokehold. The Communications Ministry rejected Musk’s allegations, calling the suggestion of unfair or discriminatory treatment baseless and misconceived.
India’s stance reflects growing disquiet over what sources described as Washington’s “increasingly callous treatment” of Indian companies and professionals. Recent US curbs on the Permanent Labour Certification (PERM) process for select technology firms, including Indian IT companies, have added to the concerns, the source said.
India is also bracing for possible further curbs on F-1 student visas and J-1 exchange visitor visas, and tighter rules under the Optional Practical Training (OPT) programme, which lets eligible international students on F-1 visas work temporarily in jobs related to their fields of study, the source added.
The growing friction is also spilling over into the ongoing bilateral trade agreement (BTA) negotiations, with New Delhi seeing little prospect of progress on the proposed interim deal before the US mid-term elections. “India will decide its next course of action on the negotiations only after the polls, depending on the results”, the source said.
The trade deal has already faced hurdles over unilateral tariff imposition and threats by the US, and also ambitious demands for market access in agriculture.
Indian exporters are currently relatively comfortable doing business in the US, with only an additional 10 per cent tariff under the Section 301 forced-labour investigation applicable over and above regular MFN duties, after the SC invalidated the steep reciprocal tariffs. However, uncertainty persists over potential tariffs under the Russia sanctions legislation and a second Section 301 investigation into excess manufacturing capacity.
Source: The Hindu Business Line
