Abstract:
The Thirty Meter Telescope International Observatory (TIO) is being built by an international consortium of institutes and universities in Canada, China,
India, Japan and USA. The estimated cost is about
US$ 1.47 billion (2012 base year). At present, it is
planned to be built on Mauna Kea, Hawaii, at an altitude of about 4000 m. The mountain is already home
to many of the world’s largest telescopes. The Union
Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister, at its meeting
held on 24 September 2014, approved India’s participation in the TIO project at a total cost of Rs 1299.80
crores. Only about 30% of India’s contribution to the
project will be made in cash to be utilized for building
common facilities and infrastructure. The rest will be
made through design, development and manufacturing of a number of hardware, software and optical
components. India’s participation in the TIO is an
extramural national project jointly funded by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and the
Department of Atomic Energy (DAE). To successfully
deliver India’s in-kind contributions, the two funding
agencies have jointly set up the India TMT Coordination Centre (ITCC) which is located at the Indian
Institute of Astrophysics (IIA), Bengaluru. IIA along
with the Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences, Nainital and the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Pune are the key
institutes which manage the India TMT project
through ITCC. Being a major extra-mural national effort, several other institutes as well as universities
participate in the technological, developmental and
scientific aspects of the initiative.
