LIGO India will be the most sensitive scientific device in the world: Prof Rana Adhikari

3 min readPuneJul 17, 2026 12:14 AM IST

A rendering of the LIGO India site in the state of Maharashtra. (LIGO website)

The upcoming LIGO India project in Maharashtra would be the most sensitive scientific instrument in the world, said Professor Rana Adhikari of the California Institute of Technology and one of the lead scientists at the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) in the US. Prof Adhikari made the remarks while delivering the Chandra Public Lecture at IUCAA in Pune on Thursday.

“Based on my estimates, this will be the most sensitive detector in the world, beyond what’s happening in the US right now. Because we are starting from a standpoint which is 2015 and improving from there. We are starting fresh now so all of the lessons learnt are already a part of it,” the physicist said.

“This detector in India will be the first AI-first gravitational wave detector, by which I mean the complicated instruments should be controlled by a mixture of human and artificial intelligence in the future. And that will be a revolution in speed from what we are doing in the US. So this is not us taking components from the US and just assembling here in a mechanical way but we are innovating and making it much better.”

Initially, however, LIGO India will commence operations with older components from the LIGO US. Speaking to The Indian Express after the event, Prof Adhikari said, “Initially we have things from 2015 but we don’t want to accept hardware from 2015. We are getting some old stuff, but everything will be upgraded.”

Costing over $1.4 billion in total, LIGO US is one of the largest scientific projects in the world. In 2016, LIGO detected Gravitational Waves for the first time a hundred years after Albert Einstein predicted their existence in his general theory of relativity.

Prof Adhikari has been instrumental in bringing the LIGO project to India. It was approved by the Indian government in 2016 and work on the ground began in 2026. Adhikari said there was a debate in the US as to whether the next LIGO project should be set up in Australia or India, and that he pushed for it to be brought to India.

Talking about LIGO itself, Prof Adhikari said, “I think this is the most sensitive device that humanity has ever created. It gives us a great way to look into the future and look into outer space and the universe is really about.”

Soham Shah is a Correspondent with The Indian Express, based in Pune. A journalism graduate with a background in fact-checking, he brings a meticulous and research-oriented approach to his current reporting.

Professional Background

Role: Correspondent coverig education and city affairs in Pune.

Specialization: His primary beat is education, but he also maintains a strong focus on civic issues, public health, human rights, and state politics.

Key Strength: Soham focuses on data-driven reporting on school and college education, government reports, and public infrastructure.

Recent Notable Articles (Late 2025)

His late 2025 work highlights a transition from education-centric reporting to hard-hitting investigative and human-rights stories:

1. Investigations & Governance

"Express Impact: Mother's name now a must to download birth certificate from PMC site" (Dec 20, 2025): Reporting on a significant policy change by the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) following his earlier reports on gender inclusivity in administrative documents.

"44-Acre Mahar Land Controversy: In June, Pune official sought land eviction at Pawar son firm behest" (Nov 9, 2025): An investigative piece on real estate irregularities involving high-profile political families.

2. Education & Campus Life

Faculty crisis at SPPU hits research, admin work: 62% of govt-sanctioned posts vacant, over 75% in many depts (Sept 12, 2025): An investigative piece on professor vacancies at Savitribai Phule Pune University.

"Maharashtra’s controversial third language policy: Why National Curriculum Framework recommends a third language from Class 6" (July 2): This detailed piece unpacks reasons behind why the state's move to introduce a third language from class 1 was controversial.

"Decline in number of schools, teachers in Maharashtra but student enrolment up: Report" (Jan 2025): Analyzing discrepancies in the state's education data despite rising student numbers.

3. Human Rights & Social Issues

"Aanchal Mamidawar was brave after her family killed her boyfriend" (Dec 17, 2025): A deeply personal and hard-hitting opinion piece/column on the "crime of love" and honor killings in modern India.

"'People disrespect the disabled': Meet the man who has become face of racist attacks on Indians" (Nov 29, 2025): A profile of a Pune resident with severe physical deformities who became the target of global online harassment, highlighting issues of disability and cyber-bullying.

Signature Style

Soham is known for his civil-liberties lens. His reporting frequently champions the rights of the marginalized—whether it's students fighting for campus democracy, victims of regressive social practices, or residents struggling with crumbling urban infrastructure (as seen in his "Breathless Pune" contributions). He is adept at linking hyper-local Pune issues to larger national conversations about law and liberty.

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