https://techcrunch.com/2023/12/21/india-telecom-bill-starlink-privacy-concerns/

India’s parliament has passed a telecommunications bill that replaces its century-old rules as the country, with over 1.17 billion telephone connections and 881 million internet subscribers, aims to modernize connectivity and embrace new services including satellite broadband, just months before general elections.

On Thursday, the upper house of the Indian parliament approved the Telecommunications Bill, 2023, through voice votes, just a day after the bill was cleared in the lower house, with many opposition leaders absent due to their suspension. The bill, which abolished the rules made in the telegraph era from as early as 1885, grants the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government the power to use and take control of telecom services and networks and monitor traffic data in national security interest. It also retains the ground for the Indian government to intercept communication.