Sunil Mittal says Bharti ahead of Starlink in approval queue, calls for lower digital taxes

Bharti Enterprises Founder and Chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal has said his group is ahead of Elon Musk's Starlink in the queue for regulatory approvals in India, asserting that Bharti has been waiting for clearance for years and is ready to roll out its satellite connectivity services.

Bharti Enterprises Founder and Chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal has said his group is ahead of Elon Musk's Starlink in the queue for regulatory approvals in India, asserting that Bharti has been waiting for clearance for years and is ready to roll out its satellite connectivity services. Speaking at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum, Mittal was asked about Musk's recent remarks targeting India's telecom billionaires in the context of Starlink's plans to enter the Indian market.

Responding to the question, Mittal said Bharti had applied for the necessary approvals five years ago and had its terrestrial network ready for the past three years. He added that the company's satellites had been positioned over India for five years. "We are all awaiting our approvals," Mittal said, adding that Bharti was "significantly ahead of the queue" compared with Starlink.

Mittal said India was at an advanced stage of preparations for satellite connectivity, with final security clearances being awaited. Once the approvals are granted, the company would be able to extend connectivity across the country, including areas that remain difficult to reach through conventional networks. He also highlighted Bharti's experience in Africa, where satellite services have already been launched in partnership with a global provider.

Emphasising the importance of digital infrastructure for economic growth, Mittal said taxes on digital goods and telecom services should be kept as low as possible to ensure that digital technology can serve as a multiplier for the economy. Turning to global trade and supply chains, Mittal said the international community had allowed China to establish a dominant position across several industries, including active pharmaceutical ingredients, automobile components and electronics.

"Everybody is very happy that China produces high quality at low cost," he said, pointing out that rising geopolitical tensions were now putting these supply chains and long-standing economic interdependencies under pressure. Mittal said reducing dependence on China would be a difficult process for countries whose industries rely heavily on Chinese raw materials and components.

Illustrating the challenge, he said a country with an annual trade deficit of USD 100 billion with China would find it difficult to reduce that figure to USD 50 billion because of its reliance on Chinese supplies across multiple sectors. He stressed that diversifying supply chains was necessary, but cautioned that the transition would take considerable time.

"It'll take a few decades," Mittal said, adding that the world was increasingly recognising that while countries would remain economically interdependent, excessive dependence on a single country was not sustainable. The remarks come amid wider global efforts to diversify supply chains, strengthen economic resilience and reduce strategic vulnerabilities while maintaining international trade links. (ANI)