Cabinet approves LIGO-India, gravitational-wave detector

Tags: Science and Technology National News

The Union Cabinet approved a project to build an advanced gravitational-wave detector in Maharashtra at an estimated cost of Rs 2,600 crore.  The facility’s construction is expected to be completed by 2030.

An overview of the news

• This mega-science project includes the construction, commissioning and joint scientific operation of a state-of-the-art, advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) in India in collaboration with the NSF-funded LIGO Laboratory, USA.

About LIGO-India Project

• It will be an advanced gravitational-wave observatory located in Maharashtra, India, as part of a worldwide network.

• It is envisaged as a collaborative project between a consortium of Indian research institutions and the LIGO Laboratory in the United States of America as well as its international partners.

• It will be built by the Department of Atomic Energy and the Department of Science and Technology with a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the National Science Foundation, US, along with several national and international research and educational institutions.

• It was given "in-principle" approval by the Union Cabinet in February 2016 with the objective of providing wider opportunities to Indian youth to pursue research careers in cutting-edge areas of science and technology.

Significance of LIGO-India

• It will significantly enhance global capabilities in the field of gravitational-wave astronomy and astrophysics.

• It will provide opportunities for Indian youth to pursue research careers in cutting-edge areas of science and technology.

• It will lead to the development of cutting-edge technologies such as lasers, optics, vacuum, quantum metrology and control-system technologies.