News Excerpt: 

Recently, India has officially become a part of the Square Kilometer Array (SKA) project. 

Significance of INDIA joining the SKA project: 

• This collaborative international effort aims to construct the largest radio telescope in the world.
• Joining the SKA project brings significant science and tech benefits for India, similar to the successes of the LHC (Large Hadron Collider) and ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor). 
• As a full member, India gets preferential access to SKA facilities that involve advanced technologies in electronics, software, materials science, and computing.
• While SKA owns the intellectual properties, all member countries, including India, can access and learn from them.
• This participation is expected to expand India's science and tech capabilities, offering opportunities for training and capacity building.

India’s involvement in SKA project:

• India has been actively engaged in the SKA project since its inception in the 1990s, playing a key role in both the design and development of the telescope. 
• Additionally, India played a crucial part in negotiating the SKA Observatory Convention, the international treaty establishing the facility as an intergovernmental organization.
• The primary contribution from India involves the development and operation of the Telescope Manager, essentially the 'neural network' or software responsible for running the entire facility. 

Future Scope of the Project: 

• Looking ahead, there are plans to establish an SKA regional center in the country, forming part of the global network responsible for processing, storing, and providing access to data for the scientific community.
• Indian scientists have identified several areas of research for which they want to use the SKA telescopes. These include studies relating to the evolution of the early universe, the formation and evolution of galaxies, neutron star physics, and solar sciences.