India based Neutrino Observatory The work at Pottipuram site of India based Neutrino Observatory is stalled at present due to orders of Madurai bench of the Honble Madras High Court. It will take about 5 years to start the scientific experiments in the laboratory. The total cost of the project is Rs. 1583.05 crores. Out of this, the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) will bear all the costs related to laboratory infrastructure while the cost of the main detector will be shared equally between DAE and the Department of Science & Technology (DST). The objectives of the laboratory are; to study the properties of the fundamental particle, the neutrino; develop skilled human resources for carrying out front ranking experimental programmes in the area of particle and nuclear physics; and development of state-of-the-art particle detectors for basic science and societal application including medical imaging. At present, there is no proposal with the Ministry of Science& Technology to establish additional laboratories for nuclear physics research in India. This was stated by the Minister of State for Science & Technology and Earth Sciences, Shri Y.S.Chowdary in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha today.
