Centre plans to relax satcom security norms amid growing Musk-India ties: Report
New Delhi: The government is reportedly considering to relax security conditions for giving satellite communication licenses which number between 30 and 40, making it more likely for Elon Musk's Starlink and Jeff Bezos' Amazon Kuiper to offer satcom services in India.
This comes amid signs of increasing cooperation between Musk and the Indian government with Musk's SpaceX recently launching the GSAT-20, the Indian Space Research Organisation's (Isro) communications satellite, from Cape Canaveral in Florida, US, as reported by the Economic Times on Monday.
"The idea is to make the conditions more relevant with changing technology, as global constellations offer services across the world," an official told the publication. However, it was not immediately clear which specific conditions could be relaxed.
The government is soon expected to call a meeting with satcom players who have either applied or got a GMPCS licence, the report added.
Currently, Bharti Enterprises-backed Eutelsat Oneweb and Reliance Jio's joint venture with Luxembourg-based satellite provider SES have got approval to offer satcom services in India.
Telecom minister Jyotiraditya Scindia last month mentioned that Starlink was in the process of applying for security clearances. "They have to comply with all the rules to get the licence. You have to look at it from a security perspective too. We are more than happy to grant a license as long as they comply with all the conditions," the minister said.
A few months ago, Department of Telecommunications (DoT) had asked both Starlink and Amazon Kuiper to meet security-related conditions so their applications could be processed further. However, they are yet to respond to DoT on the matter.
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Cristiano Ronaldo scores his 100th Saudi Pro League goal
Riyadh (AP): Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 100th Saudi Pro League goal as Al-Nassr beat Al-Shabab 4-2 to move five points clear at the top of the table.
The 41-year-old forward converted a Sadio Mané cross at the near post with 15 minutes remaining to record the 971st goal of his career on Thursday. It was also his 26th league goal of the season.
“Ronaldo is always dangerous going forward and we saw that again today,” Al-Nassr coach Jorge Jesus said.
João Félix, signed from Chelsea in July, scored three goals for the league leaders.
The win took Al-Nassr to 82 points from 32 games, five ahead of Al-Hilal, which has three matches, one more than Nassr, left to play. Al-Hilal meets Al-Kholood on Friday and faces Nassr on Tuesday in what could be a title decider against its Riyadh rival.
“Now we have a derby match against our rival, which is a difficult encounter,” Jesus said.
“We are fully aware of its importance, and we are dealing with it with complete focus as we know that small details could decide the result.”
Ronaldo, a five-time Ballon d'Or winner, has yet to secure a major trophy in Saudi Arabia since signing with Al-Nassr in December 2022.
