The Government of India has accorded its approval for India’s participation in the international mega science project, Square Kilometer Array (SKA), at an estimated cost of ₹ 1250 Cr.
- The project will be jointly funded by the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) and Department of Science and Technology (DST), with DAE as the lead agency.
- Subsequent to this approval, India will be signing the SKAO treaty to become a full-fledged member of the SKA Observatory.
- India’s membership in SKAO will enable the large-scale participation of Indian industry.
- The SKA Observatory, or SKAO for short, is an intergovernmental organisation bringing together nations from around the world.
- SKA is a state of the art, mega science international facility to build the world’s biggest and most sensitive radio telescope for addressing a wide variety of cutting-edge science goals.
- Its mission is to build and operate cutting-edge radio telescopes to transform our understanding of the Universe, and deliver benefits to society through global collaboration and innovation.
- The observatory has a global footprint and consists of the SKAO Global Headquarters in the UK, the SKAO’s two telescopes at radio-quiet sites in South Africa and Australia.
