The State Cabinet Approved the Tamil Nadu Space Industrial Policy for 2025

In order to support space-tech startups in the state, the Tamil Nadu cabinet has established a specific space policy. Tamil Nadu Commerce Minister TRB Rajaa stated in a post on X that the new strategy will aim to create at least 10,000 "high-value" direct and indirect jobs over the next ten years and draw in space-tech investments of INR 10,000 Cr. The goal of the policy, he continued, is to develop a "future-ready skilled workforce" in space technologies and services. According to Raja, the Tamil Nadu Cabinet on 18 April approved the Tamil Nadu Space Industrial Policy 2025, a daring plan to propel the state into the high-orbit economy of advanced manufacturing and space technology. This strategy serves as a vital springboard for our One Trillion Dollar economic vision, making it more than just a mission plan. According to the minister, the goal of the strategy is to establish a full-stack space-tech ecosystem in the state, which includes developing launchpads, platforms, payloads, and downstream analytics.

Incentive Packages to Startups and Enterprises Operating in Space Sector

Startups and businesses would be given incentive packages to establish space manufacturing and services at the upcoming "Space Bays", according to Raja. Through its upcoming #TNSpaceBays, which will be special industrial zones designated to power orbital goals originating from Tamil soil, Tamil Nadu is extending its doors to MSMEs, deep-tech startups, R&D units, and global majors. For the spacetech sector, Space Bays are suggested industrial areas. The policy's primary focus would be on sectors like the production of satellites and payloads, space launch vehicles, propellant chemicals, and downstream space applications, Rajaa stated. In accordance with the policy, the state government will establish space facilities modelled after the Tiruchirappalli engineering and technology (TREAT) cluster in partnership with "private industries". The state government intends to construct a "space propellant park" in Tuticorin, Rajaa continued.

Policy was First Suggested in 2024

This occurs almost a year after the Tamil Nadu Space Industrial Policy 2024 draft was released by state authorities in July of last year. Numerous revisions have been made to the draft and integrated into the new policy, according to various media reports. According to the report, under the new policy, the government will also provide manufacturing and service enterprises with a capital subsidy of up to 20%. The development is noteworthy since it occurs one month after Thangam Thennarasu, the state finance minister, suggested creating a space-tech fund with a corpus of INR 10 Cr in his address about the Budget 2025–2026. He also suggested at the time that a "foundation and prototype development lab" be established in Chennai to support satellite testing and space-tech initiatives.