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With the new launch port coming up at Kulasekarapattinam, the Tamil Nadu government is promoting the nearby districts of Madurai, Thoothukudi, Tirunelveli, and Virudhunagar as “Space Bay.” It plans to offer additional incentives to companies to accelerate development, according to Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation (TIDCO).
The industrial development agency has requested the industry and startups to provide feedback on the Space Policy that the State government plans to release soon.
Space economy expansion
The space sector in India has undergone significant reforms, transforming the landscape from one where private firms and startups were primarily component suppliers to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), to a dynamic and inclusive environment where they can now seek government support for a broad range of space activities. The future of space in India looks promising, with remarkable growth in the startup ecosystem, increasing investments, and a vision to expand our current $8.4 billion space economy to $44 billion by 2033.
Recognising this potential, Tamil Nadu will introduce its space policy to capitalise on the state’s robust industrial infrastructure, technical expertise, and strategic location.
The Tamil Nadu Space Policy 2024 is designed to drive innovation, attract investment, and position the state as a key player in the national and global space economy.
TIDCO’s incentives
Key incentives and features of the Tamil Nadu Space Policy include investment promotion subsidy; land cost incentives; incentives for MSMEs in the space sector; state grants for Space innovators; space Startup Equity financing and capital subsidy, TIDCO said.
The draft Space Policy Tamil Nadu 2024 says that the State has already partnered with private industries to establish a common facility at Trichy termed TREAT, which has the capabilities to support the heavy engineering needs of the space industry. The government will establish similar facilities in the vicinity of the upcoming spaceport at Kulasekarapattinam to enhance the supply chain efficiency of the space-industrial ecosystem. The Govt of Tamil Nadu would ensure linkages with the industrial warehousing segment which is a desirable attribute for heavy engineering ecosystem at both Sriharikota and Kulasekarapattinam.
The State government has taken into cognisance the rising demand for Low Earth Orbit satellites, which have a shorter life cycle than that of Geosynchronous orbit satellites and also the need for thousands of LEO Satellites in contrast to the GEO satellites; the government will create the required ecosystem for supporting the manufacturing of satellites and other payloads in existing industrial hubs of the State as well in the vicinity of the Kulasekarapattinam spaceport.
In view of the specific nature of Space manufacturing, the government has categorised industries into two classifications based on the size of the investment. The first category would comprise industries involving an investment of ₹50 to ₹300 crore, and the second category would involve an investment of about ₹300 crore. While the Standard Investment period for the first category would be four years, it would be five years for the second category, the draft policy says.
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