India approves construction of gravitational-wave observatory.

The Indian government has approved the construction of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory – India (LIGO-India), which is expected to be operational by 2030. The observatory will be an identical copy of the two Advanced LIGO (a-LIGO) observatories located in the US and will cost an estimated $3.1bn to build. LIGO-India will be built by a collaboration between the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and four Indian institutes. The project will allow gravitational-wave sources to be better pinpointed and monitored, and will provide cutting-edge research opportunities to young researchers in India.