Maharashtra becomes India's first state to partner with Starlink: CM Fadnavis

Mumbai, Nov 5 (IANS) The Maharashtra government on Wednesday signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) with Starlink Satellite Communications Private Limited to formally collaborate with Starlink to deploy satellite-based internet services for government institutions, rural communities, and critical public infrastructure across remote and underserved regions and aspirational districts in Maharashtra such as Gadchiroli, Nandurbar, Dharashiv, and Washim.

The LoI signing was done in the presence of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and state Information Technology Minister Ashish Shelar.

CM Fadnavis in his post on X said: "It was wonderful to welcome Lauren Dreyer, Vice President, Starlink in Mumbai today, where the Government of Maharashtra signed LoI with Starlink Satellite Communications Private Limited, marking Maharashtra as the first Indian state to formally collaborate with Starlink. Elon Musk's Starlink is one of the largest companies in the ICT industry holding the largest number of communication satellites in the world. It is our honour that the company is arriving in India and partnering with Maharashtra."

He further said: "The Maharashtra-Starlink collaboration supports State's flagship Digital Maharashtra mission and integrates with its EV, Coastal Development, and Disaster Resilience programs. With this landmark decision, Maharashtra will lead India in satellite-enabled digital infrastructure. This is a giant leap towards future-ready Maharashtra and setting the benchmark for Hon PM Narendra Modi Ji's Digital India mission at the grassroots. Congratulations Maharashtra!”

The CM's announcement comes days after the state cabinet last week cleared the vision document in order to achieve the Viksit Maharashtra by 2047 and thereby stay at front to contribute to Viksit Bharat @2047.

The state government has claimed that Maharashtra envisions to be a cornerstone of India’s Viksit Bharat journey guided by its vision for 2047. Despite physical and financial constraints, the government has set an ambitious target of building a $5 trillion economy from the present $530 billion plus economy by 2047 by laying emphasis on growth driven economy, sustainable development, empowerment through inclusiveness and good governance.

The vision document focuses on 16 sectoral themes comprising agriculture and allies sectors and rural, industries, services, tourism, urban development, energy and sustainability, water, transport and logistics, education and stilling, health, welfare, soft power, governance, technology, security and finance.

--IANS

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