India inks interim agreement with SKAO; final review by govt underway

The agreement will be valid for one year.

The singing of the Cooperation Agreement between India, represented by TIFR – National Centre for Radio Astrophysics (NCRA), and SKA, was held virtually. Prof Yashwant Gupta, centre director, NCRA, and Prof Phil Diamond, director general, SKA, signed the agreement in the presence of officials from the Department of Atomic Energy.

This move will facilitate India to make its first monetary contribution towards the construction phase of the SKA, which got underway last year. Though India is a participating country in the setting up of the world’s largest radio telescope, it is yet to get the central government’s approval to become a Member Country.

After completion of the required ratifications in December 2020, the SKA Organisation graduated to becoming the SKA Council — an umbrella body to plan, undertake and oversee the construction of SKA Observatory and also manage operations of the facility in the decades to come.

“Since the Council was constituted, countries which are yet to become SKA Member Country, like India, have to sign the Cooperation Agreement,” said Gupta.

Along with hosting a Regional Data Centre, Indian scientists will be building SKA’s Telescope Manager System.

The approval is pending with the central government and it is learnt that the final reviewing process is presently underway. “We are hopeful that the approval will come through in the next few months,” added Gupta.

SKA will be built in Australia and South Africa and is headquartered in the United Kingdom. Along with the three host countries, Italy, France, China, Switzerland and Canada are among the countries building SKAO, which is expected to be operational by the end of this decade.