Land Granted in India for first LIGO Project

• India to start now first LIGO project in the country as the land for it recently granted in Maharashtra.

• The Hingoli revenue department has handed over 225 hectare of land here in Maharashtra to authorities of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) project.

• There are currently a couple of such labs in the U.S. at Hanford in Washington and Livingston in Louisiana which study the gravitational waves.

• In 2016, the central government had given an ‘in principle’ approval to the LIGO-India mega science proposal for research on gravitational waves.

• COVID-19 pandemic although delayed the transfer of the land but now it is cleared finally for the LIGO) project.

• The key infrastructure work of the lab will begin after necessary formalities are completed between the project officials and the central government.

• They will set up a laboratory along with some other related infrastructure in Hingoli.