Telangana is building a dedicated Space City: Industries Minister Sridhar Babu

We are trying to build a dedicated space city that brings together industry, R&D, talent, infrastructure, and advanced manufacturing, a whole ecosystem where companies can build, test and scale. Telangana's Minister for IT, Electronics & Communications, Industries, mentioned at the 'Architects of Viksit Bharat' hosted by ZEE Media and SAP in Hyderabad. "Our space tech guys are very young... Recently, I interacted with them and appreciated their drive to do something great. They are not trying to imitate what the West is doing, they want to innovate. They want to host data centres in space and create science labs in space. Skyroot Aerospace is India's first space sector unicorn, and the company emerged from our city, Hyderabad. We see the capabilities coming together in the space sector. Space is the next emerging pillar of our economy," Sridhar Babu highlighted during his ministerial keynote address.

The Indian government envisions a 'Viksit Bharat' (developed India) by 2047, and projects that our country will have a $30 trillion economy by the centenary year of our Independence. At present, a small state like Telangana contributes about 5 per cent to the national GDP. By the year 2047, we envision that Telangana should contribute 10 per cent ($3 trillion) of the country's $30 trillion economy. It may look like a herculean task for observers and economists, but we have a dream and goal; we trust our talent and infrastructure. We believe we can do it, emphasised the minister.

Sharing a major insight gained from their 'Telangana Rising' delegation's visit to the World Economic Forum (WEF) at Davos, Minister Babu quoted the WEF Future of Jobs report of 2025: By the year 2030, 170 million jobs will be created globally, and 92 million jobs will be displaced; 39% of existing skills will change. The minister touched upon how the nature of work would keep changing in the coming years due to the disruption caused by emerging and cutting-edge tech including AI and quantum computing, among others.

Following the Minister Sridhar Babu's keynote, a panel discussion themed ‘Hyderabad Hyperscales India’s Ascent into Space’ was moderated by WION's Sidharth MP, which explored Hyderabad’s growing deep-tech, aerospace, and innovation ecosystem and its role in advancing India’s ambitions in the global space economy. The discussion brought together leading voices from India’s emerging private space sector: Dr Chiranjeevi Phanindra B, Founder & CEO, Cosmoserve Space, Dr Pramod Konugurthi, Founding Member & CPO, XDLINX Space Labs, Nirvik Choudhury, Co-Founder, AnduraX, and Ashwin Mahavadi, Senior Vice President, Skyroot Aerospace.

The panel examined the opportunities emerging from India’s expanding private space ecosystem, including satellite technology, launch systems, deep-tech innovation, and the growing participation of Indian enterprises in the global space economy. The panelists also put forth their specific sectoral requests and the support required from the Telangana government and their expectations from the upcoming Space City project.

The Telangana edition of the Architects of 'Viksit Bharat' by ZEE Media and SAP brought together some of the state’s most accomplished business leaders and entrepreneurs, recognising their exemplary contribution to the larger mission of building a technology-driven, innovative and resilient India. Delivering a keynote at the event, Captain N. Uttam Kumar Reddy, Telangana's Minister for Irrigation, Food and Civil Supplies, shared his perspective on the state's growing prominence in the startup ecosystem and IT services sector. His keynote highlighted the state’s expanding entrepreneurial landscape and the opportunities emerging for businesses and innovators as Telangana continues to strengthen its position as a technology and enterprise hub.

ZEE Media CEO Raktim Das felicitated Minister D Sridhar Babu with the ‘GCC Leadership Award for FY 2025,’ recognising his leadership and contribution to Telangana’s evolving GCC and technology ecosystem and Captain N. Uttam Kumar Reddy, Telangana's Minister for Irrigation, Food and Civil Supplies, was felicitated for his contribution to the broader Viksit Bharat 2047 vision.