Govt-approved Rs 1500 crore Neutrino project at Theni will be set up soon, says Harsh Vardhan

Union Minister for Science and Technology and Earth Sciences, Dr Harsh Vardhan has assured that the government is working towards resuming the Indian Neutrino Observatory (INO) project which has been proposed to be set up in Theni district of Tamil Nadu and has been lying in limbo. In January last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had given his approval for setting up of the observatory at a cost of more than Rs 1500 crore.

Activists and political leaders in Tamil Nadu and Kerala have been protesting against the setting up of the observatory citing its possible adverse impact on the environment. “I will personally look into the nitty gritty of the issue. Our Ministry will work towards a positive outcome,” Dr Harsh Vardhan said through video conferencing, while addressing media persons across the country, as he was elaborating on the achievements of his ministry and the departments.

Hailing the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and calling it a globally benchmarked organisation he said, “CSIR is ranked at 84th position among the 4851 institutions across the world and is the only Indian organisation among the top 100 global institutions.” He cited the Scimago Institutions ranking world report.

Migration of scientific manpower has been checked to a “great extent” with increase in the capacity of laboratories and upgradation of research institutes, Vardhan said, underlining that science is back on track in the country. Claiming that India was entering into the new field of research, Vardhan said, “We are the leading country in research in climate change and global warming.”

“Migration of scientific manpower has been checked to a great extent with increase in the capacity of laboratories and upgradation of research institutes,” Vardhan told reporters while addressing them in the National Video-link Press Conference held in New Delhi. Stating that India’s challenges are many and solutions complex, he said ambitious plans have been made in new areas and the need of the hour is to move ahead and scale up.

“We have moved from policy paralysis and worked with our brilliant scientific community to connect with our people and what India needs,” the Minister said. Asserting that “science is back on track”, he listed key initiatives taken by his ministry in the fields of scientific weather forecasting, formulation of new vaccines, biotechnology, energy research and eco-system for innovation.

(With inputs from PTI)