Prime Minister Narendra Modi will dedicate scientific projects worth Rs 5,800 crore, lay the foundation stone and inaugurate a programme to mark National Technology Day on May 11 (tomorrow). The programme will also mark the beginning of the celebration of the 25th National Technology Day, which is slated to be held from May 11-14.
PM Modi will lay the foundation stone of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory – India (LIGO-India), which will be among one of the handful of Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave observatories in the world.
The PM will also lay the foundation stone and dedicate multiple projects related to scientific and technological advancement in India, worth more than Rs 5,800 crore, according to a press release by PMO.
During the programme, PM Modi will also inaugurate an expo showcasing scientific and technological advancements made in India in the recent past. He will also release commemorative stamp and coins on the occasion, the release added.
Apart from laying the foundation stone for Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory – India (LIGO-India), the PM is also likely to lay the foundation stone for Hingoli; Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital and Research Centre in Jatni, Odisha and Platinum Jubilee Block of Tata Memorial Hospital in Mumbai.
The projects that will be dedicated to the nation include Fission Molybdenum-99 Production Facility, Mumbai; Rare Earth Permanent Magnet Plant, Visakhapatnam; National Hadron Beam Therapy Facility, Navi Mumbai; Radiological Research Unit, Navi Mumbai; Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital and Research Centre, Visakhapatnam; and Women & Children Cancer Hospital Building, Navi Mumbai.
LIGO-India, to be developed in Hingoli, Maharashtra, is an extremely sensitive interferometer of 4-km arm length capable of sensing gravitational waves generated during the merger of massive astrophysical objects such as black holes, and neutron stars. The LIGO-India will work in synchronisation with two such observatories operating in the US -- one in Hanford, Washington and the other in Livingston, Louisiana.