The Department of Space approved common technical facilities on May 22 for testing, validation and integration of space infrastructure in Gujarat and Tamil Nadu.

Gujarat has earmarked land at Khoraj near Ahmedabad for a Space Manufacturing Park focused on spacecraft production, payload systems and space-based applications. The cluster is expected to support end-to-end development, integration and testing of spacecraft components and payload systems. Gujarat Chief Secretary Manoj Kumar Das said it would accelerate space-tech manufacturing and diversify the state’s industrial base.

Tamil Nadu identified land at Thoothukudi for a Space Vehicles Cluster. Both plug-and-play clusters are dedicated to space activities and have attracted industry interest, investment commitments and private-sector participation, according to IN-SPACe Chairman Pawan Kumar Goenka. Shared facilities will give startups, MSMEs and large companies access to advanced infrastructure without building it themselves.

IN-SPACe will procure, install and commission the facilities, operate them for a specified period, then transfer ownership to the respective state governments.

Maruti Suzuki India will invest ₹10,189 crore to establish the first phase of its Khoraj plant in Gujarat, creating annual capacity for 250,000 units by 2029. The investment also covers common infrastructure and facilities for future plants.

Maruti Suzuki will develop a vehicle manufacturing facility across 1,750 acres at Khoraj, Gandhinagar, with an investment of ₹35,000 crore. An investment-letter handover ceremony was held on January 17, attended by Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghvi and Maruti Suzuki Managing Director Hisashi Takeuchi; investment agreements were signed with the Gujarat government.

The facility will have four plants, each capable of producing 2.5 lakh cars annually, for total capacity of 10 lakh vehicles a year. Production at the first plant is planned to begin in financial year 2029. The project is expected to create around 12,000 direct jobs; ancillary and MSME units could generate nearly 7.5 lakh indirect jobs. It will be Maruti Suzuki’s second Gujarat plant after Hansalpur, about 66 km away.

Zydus Foundation and Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation (GMC) signed a memorandum of understanding to transform urban public spaces, including the Zydus GMC Garden at Khoraj, as part of efforts to promote sustainable urban development and community wellness.

Gandhinagar received development projects worth ₹1,848 crore: ₹798 crore through the Municipal Corporation and ₹1,050 crore through the Roads and Buildings Department. Around 30 electric buses were flagged off under PM-eBus Sewa. A further ₹48.26 crore in projects was announced for the capital, including a ₹20.76 crore underpass at Bhat-Koteshwar Crossing, ₹12.80 crore to strengthen the Sabarmati bridge towards GIFT City-Shahpur, ₹7.70 crore for junction and road works from GIFT City towards PDPU, and ₹7 crore for road safety and paver works between Raksha Shakti Circle and GIFT City Circle.

Works include an 80-metre Airport Road–Raysan link, a service road from Raksha Shakti to Sargasan, and new CC roads in Khoraj, Pethapur, Randheja, Kolavada, Vavol, Vasana Hadmatiya and Adivada. Randheja will get an overhead water tank; drainage lines will be laid in Sectors 1–30 and seven surrounding villages. Sargasan will get an urban primary health centre. Other works include smart Anganwadis, gardens in Jhundal, Amiyapur and Sector 20, Swarnim Cultural Centre renovation and Raysan Chowk development. Gandhinagar has around 125 modern gardens and recently planted around 18 lakh trees.