Hanle, June 16 -- On the 3rd day of her visit to Ladakh, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman laid the foundation stone for a Mini Planetarium and Astro Globe at the Hanle Dark Sky Reserve in the Changthang region of the Union Territory. The initiative, sanctioned under the Special Development Package (SDP), comes at an estimated cost of Rs.276.65 lakh and aims to promote scientific education, astro-tourism, stargazing, night sky programs, and generate local employment.

At the Baba Atomic Research Centre's Major Atmospheric Cherenkov Experiment (MACE) Telescope facility in Hanle, Prof. Annapurni Subramaniam, Director of the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA), and Dr K.K. Yadav from the Astrophysical Sciences Division, BARC prese...