Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday dedicated India’s first LED curved-dome planetarium and the Cosmos-Mysuru cosmology education and research training centre to the nation at the foothills of Chamundi Hill in Mysuru, Karnataka. The facilities have been built by the Union Department of Science and Technology and are intended to strengthen public engagement with astronomy, science education and research.
Speaking at a public function after the inauguration, Modi said science should serve society and development, adding that the government was continuing to support science and innovation. He described the planetarium as a new chapter in India’s scientific journey and said it could play an important role in giving shape to the aspirations of young people.
The Prime Minister visited the planetarium and was briefed about its advanced facilities. He also sat in the facility’s dome theatre to view presentations about space and interacted with children. Describing the experience as remarkable, Modi said the planetarium could encourage visitors to look towards the sky, understand the vastness of the universe and explore its mysteries.
The LED curved-dome system is the central feature of the new planetarium. The inauguration also included the Cosmos-Mysuru centre, which has been described as a facility for cosmology education and research training. The source report did not provide the project’s construction cost, seating capacity, operating schedule or details of the research programmes to be conducted there.
Modi linked the new facility to Mysuru’s longer institutional history of supporting education and knowledge creation. He referred to the establishment of the University of Mysore during the period of Nalvadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar and to the Wadiyar family’s role in the establishment of the Indian Institute of Science in Bengaluru. According to the Prime Minister, these institutions had helped generations of students and researchers develop their capabilities and pursue new work.
The inauguration also formed part of the government’s wider presentation of science and space technology as tools for public development. Modi said the space sector had been opened to private participation, creating opportunities for private companies and giving Indian start-ups a platform to demonstrate their capabilities. He added that satellite technology, space science and technologies linked to earth sciences were being combined to improve people’s lives.
He also said that access to high-quality research facilities and scientific publications was essential for strengthening research. In this context, he referred to the One Nation One Subscription initiative, which he said had been launched to improve access for students and researchers.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Karnataka Governor Sudha Yadav, Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, Higher Education Minister Basavaraj Rayareddi and Mysuru-Kodagu MP Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar attended the event. Modi said Karnataka was making a major contribution to science education and to the country’s scientific capability, describing the Mysuru planetarium as an addition to the state’s public scientific infrastructure.
