Maharashtra becomes first Indian state to ink deal with Elon Musk’s Starlink

Maharashtra has become the first Indian state to formally tie up with Starlink, bringing Elon Musk’s global satellite internet company into India. 

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis announced the landmark agreement on social media, sharing his enthusiasm after welcoming Starlink Vice President Lauren Dreyer in Mumbai, where the state government inked a Letter of Intent (LoI) with Starlink to put Maharashtra on the satellite map.

With this collaboration, Maharashtra aims to deploy satellite-based internet broadband for government institutions, rural communities, and key public services in “remote and underserved regions and aspirational districts”, including Gadchiroli, Nandurbar, Dharashiv, and Washim, Fadnavis said.

The move targets digital gaps that persist in some of the state’s most challenging areas, with the CM stating, “Maharashtra as the first Indian state to formally collaborate with Starlink to deploy satellite-based internet services… across remote and underserved regions and aspirational districts”.

The partnership supports Maharashtra’s “Digital Maharashtra” mission and integrates with efforts around electric vehicles (EV), coastal development, and disaster resilience—pledging a high-tech leap for services like education, telemedicine, and emergency response. 

Fadnavis described Starlink as “one of the largest companies in the ICT industry holding the largest number of communication satellites in the world,” lauding the company’s arrival in India as an honour and a “game changer” for digital inclusion in the state.

This initiative marks a milestone for India, with Maharashtra poised to be the benchmark for PM Narendra Modi-helmed “Digital India” programme. The agreement adds to the recent moves by Indian regulators to grant Starlink licenses for commercial satellite operations—requiring local Indian gateways and strict data localisation safeguards—and comes amid related deals with Indian telecom majors for hardware distribution in rural India.

Starlink and India clearance

Back in July, Union Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia announced that Starlink received the license to launch satellite internet service in India. 

Around May, the Elon Musk firm obtained its operator licence from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) following a three-year application process. The Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) authorised Starlink’s Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite constellation after receiving the DoT operator licence. The

IN-SPACe authorisation was for a Starlink Gen1 satellite constellation, which includes 4,408 satellites orbiting at 540-570 km altitude.