(The column first appeared in the Indian Express on April 21, 2023)
A fortnight ago, the Union Cabinet approved the full budget for the LIGO-India mega-science project, which 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, operated by Caltech and MIT. The approval emphatically reiterates the Indian government’s commitment to meet the rising aspirations of Indian science to make a far-reaching impact in the global arena. As noted in the “in-principle” approval granted by the Union Cabinet in February 2016, LIGO-India will provide a very broad spectrum of opportunities to Indian youth to pursue research careers in cutting-edge areas of science and technology…