Digital security is national security
Opinion: this editorial reflects the editor's view.
This week brought two reminders. The Swadeshi Jagran Manch has urged the Centre not to grant a licence to Elon Musk's Starlink. And the State Bank of India told customers their funds were safe after a cyberattack, even as experts warned that fast AI adoption is widening cyber risks.
Concern about foreign control of critical communications is not paranoia. Satellite internet will carry government, defence and financial traffic, and nations that depend entirely on foreign infrastructure can be pressured. India has the engineers, a respected space agency and a growing private space sector. Policy should give domestic providers a fair head start, keep data and network control under Indian law, and insist on audits and local ground stations from any foreign entrant.
Banks need the same seriousness: mandatory disclosure of breaches, regular stress tests, and investment in homegrown cyber capacity. Reassurance after an incident is welcome, but prevention is better. Swadeshi is not a slogan. It is risk management.
The other side
Supporters of Starlink and similar services say satellite broadband can reach villages and hill areas where fibre and towers do not, that competition lowers prices, and that security conditions can be set through licensing rather than a blanket refusal. Free-market economists add that protecting domestic firms can raise costs for consumers.
