PM Modi To Lay Foundation Stone For India's Gravitational Wave Observatory

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will today (11 May) lay the foundation stone for the LIGO project in Maharashtra's Hingoli district via video conference.

The project received final clearance from the government a month ago. Additionally, the Prime Minister will inaugurate multiple projects of the atomic energy department on the 25th anniversary of the 1998 nuclear tests.

The Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory, LIGO, which is designed to identify gravitational waves, is poised to become India's largest scientific facility.

In 2015, the first ever detection of gravitational waves was made at the two LIGO observatories in the US, leading to a Nobel Prize two years later. More detectors have since emerged in Japan and Italy. India's LIGO will become the fifth and final node in the network of detectors.

The upcoming LIGO facility in Hingoli district, 450 km east of Mumbai, comprises two 4-km long vacuum chambers and other buildings spanning almost 600 acres. It is expected that the facility will be fully operational by 2030.

To mark National Technology Day, the Prime Minister will reveal various nuclear energy projects, including LIGO, to observe the 25th anniversary of the 1998 tests.

The Prime Minister will inaugurate a new Molybdenum-99 facility in Mumbai and a Rare Earth Permanent magnet Plant in Visakhapatnam.

BARC has constructed the new magnet plant in its Visakhapatnam facility, which is capable of producing Samarium-Cobalt and Neodymium-Iron-Boron magnets. These magnets are vital components used in a range of advanced technologies including wind turbines, telecommunications, electric vehicles, microelectronics, airplanes, and weapons.

At present, the supply of these magnets relies heavily on China.

To overcome this dependency, India intends to leverage local sources of rare earth elements to manufacture these magnets.

The BARC complex in Mumbai houses the Molybdenum-99 production facility and other upcoming projects launched by the Prime Minister. These initiatives aim to utilize nuclear energy for promoting health. Molybdenum-99 aids in detecting cancer and heart diseases in the early stages through imaging procedures.

The Prime Minister is also set to inaugurate healthcare facilities including a National Hadron Beam Therapy Facility, a radiological research unit, a Women and Children Cancer Hospital in Navi Mumbai and a Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital and Research Centre in Visakhapatnam.

The PM will lay foundation stones for a cancer hospital in Jatni, Odisha and a new block at Tata Memorial Hospital in Mumbai.