Cosmos being established at foot of Chamundi Hills will enlighten astrophysics students, says Nirmala

Shilpa P | NT

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman laid the foundation stone of her “dream project” Cosmology Education and Research Training Centre (Cosmos), which is being established in a three-acre expanse within the University of Mysore’s Sri Jayachamaraja Wadiyar Centre for Higher Learning” campus at the foot of Chamundi Hills in Mysuru on Sunday.

The Cosmos will feature a technically advanced planetarium with a Digistar-7 system and a Domex-led dome screen. It is being set up at a cost of Rs 80 crore, including Rs 2 crore Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme funds of the Rajya Sabha member.

Other funding will come from departments of Science and Technology, Atomic Energy and Space, Government of India. The organisation has entered into a memorandum of understanding with Indian Institute of Astrophysics of Bengaluru to implement the project.

Speaking on the occasion, Nirmala Sitharaman said the project will take shape by March 2023, and will be more than a planetarium, where all past and present data related to astrophysics will be available. Students will be able to use the data with the guidance of experienced teachers and faculty. They will be explained what the data actually means, for what can it be used, how to use it and what outcome or benefit they stand to get out of it.

“Once the students energetically use it, they will get a taste of it. They will be able to build themselves in the right inquisitive way to become great scientists. By making use of the centre, I want India to have a lot more young scientists who can use the available data in such a way that it is beneficial to themselves, the state, country and humanity,” she said.

“The centre will be an addition to the knowledge bank of India, which is the Vishwa guru in giving knowledge to the world. It will be a small tool that will benefit the world. The centre will democratise learning. It will offer knowledge and hands-on experience to all, which otherwise is exclusively available for only a few people,” the FM said.

Sharing her feelings on how the idea of the Cosmos centre germinated two years ago, before Covid, and came to reality, Nirmala Sitharaman said, “As Rajya Sabha MP representing Karnataka, I wanted to utilise the area development fund to take up something that will help coming generations, in carrying the great heritage and knowledge that India has carefully built over centuries, two years ago. A Karnataka-cadre IAS officer, who was my personal secretary then, suggested setting up a planetarium and Principal Scientific Advisor, Government of India, K Vijay Raghavan guided us on the kind of planetarium we should establish”.