Budget may cut reliance on foreign telescopes; trips on space spending

The budget has brought some cheer to India’s research community, particularly for those involved in astronomy and space research, as it has earmarked ₹13,416.20 crore for the Department of Space for 2026-27.

A large chunk of the allocation has been set aside for deep-space exploration and astrophysics, including to build two advanced telescope facilities: the 30-m National Large Optical-Infrared Telescope and the National Large Solar Telescope near Pangong Lake in Ladakh.

Also in focus is the COSMOS-2 planetarium in Amaravati, Andhra Pradesh, to be completed soon, and improving the control systems of the Himalayan Chandra Telescope in Hanle, Ladakh. Currently, only the U.S., China, Japan and the European Union prioritise astronomy research to a high degree and constantly invest large sums to upgrade their terrestrial and space telescopes. So, astronomers have said, the telescope allocations will improve space research capability and science outreach in India.

Frontier research

However, experts also raised concerns about a significant drop in expenditure, with the actual expense falling short of budgetary estimates. This underutilisation has in the past led to bottlenecks in the planning and executing major projects.

“There were several proposed space missions which were finally not supported,” Bhaswati Mookerjea, professor and chairperson of the Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai, said.

Dr. Mookerjea added that although this budget “is an extremely positive step for astronomy in India,” the importance of following it through couldn’t be overstated: “The execution of big projects in India would still require some streamlining of resources with checks and balances.”

Only a few large astronomical observatories are capable of frontier research and groundbreaking discoveries worldwide, which means researchers have to compete for observation time. And when funding agencies favour their own national researchers, international scientists’ access becomes increasingly restricted, and Indians are no exception.

Relying on overseas facilities

To make matters worse, an astrophysicist (who didn’t wish to be identified) told this reporter that India’s problem is compounded by the attitude of bureaucrats and administrators.

“They are close-minded regarding concepts like buying fractional time on large telescopes or missions — measures that are not only essential to foster stronger international collaborations and keep us at the forefront of astronomy research, but also serve as a stop-gap arrangement till we have our own large telescopes,” the astrophysicist said.

For far too long has the country relied on overseas facilities for high-resolution data and specialised equipment to do space science, including collaborative projects such as radio, optical, and space-based observations. Acquiring strong domestic capabilities in space science and astrophysics is thus imperative if India is to reduce its dependence on foreign observatories.

Steadily strengthened

Building large-scale, next-generation observatories for cutting-edge space research, however, involves overcoming formidable financial and technological hurdles. These challenges often require collaborative partnerships with international teams and pooling resources and expertise with them is often the only way for Indian scientists to participate in ambitious projects. Adequate funding, effective governance and partnership with domestic industry offer a realistic solution to shrug off this dependence on foreign facilities and research data. 

Fortunately, India’s astronomy and space research ecosystem is being steadily strengthened with the addition of cutting-edge technology platforms. These include optical and radio telescopes, such as the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) near Pune, and data processing centres capable of AI-driven data analysis. These efforts, alongside the new budgetary push, could boost India’s research capabilities, with the growing shift towards public-private partnerships in space research adding to the optimism.

“Basic science and big budget experiments all over the world require funding from state agencies” Dr. Mookerjea said. “While there are many private enterprises in the space sector, proper channeling of their efforts and overall quality control and monitoring would require setting up of statutory bodies involving government agencies.”

“In the past decade or so we have seen many startups in the space sector, often working in close collaboration with Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) experts,” Abhimanyu Susobhanan, assistant professor of physics at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Thiruvananthapuram, said. “The Department of Space established the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre in 2020 to promote such partnerships. This is a positive sign as such partnerships will promote innovation and attract private investment in the space sector.”

Sub-millimetre sky

For that to happen, however, policymakers should acknowledge “the imperative for strategic resource allocation and collaborative initiatives to maximise the scientific output from the country’s astronomical assets.” But, he cautioned, “we also have to keep in mind that private interests may not always align with the interests of the nation as a whole.”

An important upside of developing homegrown cutting-edge resources in space science is that it will encourage students to engage in advanced research in the country, arresting the steady brain drain to institutions abroad. But that has been easier said, with a lot of homework still being required before it becomes a reality. For instance, the GMRT is the world’s largest radio telescope array operating at low frequencies and attracts astronomers from across the world. But in the absence of a comparable optical telescope in the country, Indian scientists are forced to stand in line for telescope time at foreign facilities, as they do for doing research in high frequency radio astronomy. 

Similarly, India doesn’t have any telescope that operates in the critical sub-millimeter wavelengths.

“The sub-millimetre sky is a unique window for probing the architecture of the universe and structures within it, from the dusty sub-millimetre galaxies to the ringed nature of proto-stellar disks,” Dr. Mookerjea said. “A proposal is in the pipeline and it is also a part of the Astronomy & Astrophysics Mega Science Vision 2035.”

Only when such projects are realised can India’s march towards becoming a leader in space exploration gather pace.

Prakash Chandra is a science writer.

Published – February 09, 2026 05:30 am IST