Context: India has approved to join the SKA project, accompanied by a financial commitment of Rs 1,250 crore.

Key Points

• The Square Kilometer Array Observatory (SKAO), an international mega-science project that will serve as the largest radio telescope in the world.

• To formally become members, countries are required to sign and ratify the SKAO Convention. 

• India’s approval for joining the project, accompanied by a financial sanction of Rs 1,250 crore, represents the first step toward ratification.

Square Kilometre Array Observatory (SKAO)

• Genesis: It was established as an intergovernmental organization in 2021 after years of negotiations that saw participation from various countries, including India.

• The SKA Observatory is an intergovernmental bringing together organizations from ten countries; Australia, Canada, China, India, Italy, New Zealand, South Africa, Sweden, the Netherlands and the UK.

• Headquarters: United Kingdom

• Mandate: Its aim is to build and operate cutting-edge radio telescopes to transform the understanding of the Universe.

• It will explore the formation and evolution of galaxies, fundamental physics in extreme environments and the origins of life.

• The observatory consists of the two telescopes at radio-quiet sites in South Africa and Australia, and associated facilities to support the operations of the telescopes.

Indian Engagement in SKAO

• India, through the Pune-based National Centre for Radio Astrophysics (NCRA) has been involved in the development of SKA since its inception in the 1990s.

• India’s main contribution is in the development, and operation, of the Telescope Manager element, the “neural network” or the software that will make the telescope work.

Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) 

• It is operated by the National Centre for Radio Astrophysics (NCRA), a part of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research

• GMRT is the world’s largest and most sensitive radio telescope operating within the 110-1,460 MegaHertz frequency range.

• Significance: GMRT was among the six top radio telescopes used to enable the detection of the nano-hertz gravitational waves for the first time.

• a. Such waves are expected to originate from a large number of dancing monster black hole pairs, several million times heavier than the Sun.