India in the Union Budget 2026 has approved two new telescopes NLST and NLOT in Ladakh and one existing Himalayan Chandra Telescope has been upgraded

India in the Union Budget 2026 has approved two new telescopes NLST and NLOT in Ladakh and one existing Himalayan Chandra Telescope has been upgraded

¨     India in the Union Budget 2026 has approved two new telescopes NLST and NLOT in Ladakh and one existing Himalayan Chandra Telescope has been upgraded.

¨     National Large Solar Telescope (NLST) and National Large Optical-Near Infrared Telescope (NLOT), along with the upgraded Himalayan Chandra Telescope are expected to significantly increase India’s observational astronomy capability.

¨     These projects present in Hanle, India’s first Dark Sky Reserve, are being described as a potential game-changer for studies in solar physics, exoplanet research and the origin of the universe.

National Large Solar Telescope (NLST)

¨     National Large Solar Telescope (NLST) will be a 2-meter aperture solar telescope which will be built in Merak near Pangong Tso.

¨     It will work in visible and near-infrared wavelength, which will help scientists to study solar magnetism, solar flares and space-weather events.

¨     Solar activity directly affects Earth’s satellites, communication systems and space missions.

¨     With NLST, India will improve its capability to monitor space weather, which is necessary for the protection of national space assets.

¨     Once built and operational, which is estimated in the next 5-6 years, NLST will work as India’s third ground-based solar observatory. At present, Kodaikanal Solar Observatory (in Tamil Nadu, built in 1899) and Udaipur Solar Observatory (in Rajasthan, built in 1975) are operational.

¨     In 2023, ISRO had launched India’s first space-based solar observatory, Aditya-L1. Along with Aditya-L1, the data received from NLST will help in strengthening India’s leadership in heliophysics.

National Large Optical Near Infrared Telescope (NLOT)

¨     National Large Optical Near Infrared Telescope (NLOT) will be a 13.7-meter segmented-mirror telescope built in Hanle. It will have 90 hexagonal mirror segments which will work together as one large mirror.

¨     Due to the higher altitude, dry weather and clear sky of Ladakh, NLOT will capture clearer images with minimum atmospheric distortion. This will help in conducting frontier research in these areas.

¨     NLOT will be one of the largest telescopes in the world in the optical-infrared range. India’s experience in the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) project strengthens its technical expertise in segmented mirror technology.

¨     In building NLOT, India can rely on its experience of participation in the ongoing construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT). It is a major international collaborative project in which India, America, Canada, China and Japan are included, whose objective is to greatly improve our understanding of the universe.

Upgrade of Himalayan Chandra Telescope (HCT)

¨     The government also approved the upgradation of the 2-meter Himalayan Chandra Telescope (HCT), which was one of the first facilities to be built in Ladakh.

¨     After completing 25 years of operation and continuously providing necessary data on transient astronomy (study of short-duration cosmic events like supernova that greatly change brightness), HCT is preparing for its first major upgrade.

¨     The upgraded HCT will have a 3.7-meter segmented primary mirror. It will work in optical-infrared wavelength. The operation of HCT will complement the operation of international facilities like LIGO-India and Square Kilometre Array.