Union Budget 2026 Puts Telescopes At Heart Of India's Science Vision

While presenting the Union Budget 2026-27, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman covered traditional spheres like taxes, infrastructure and agriculture, but also looked to the sky. In announcing the setting up and upgradation of four major telescope facilities, the Budget signaled a quiet but consequential message: India is consolidating its strengths in astrophysics and astronomy, and doing so with long-term intent.

The four facilities - the National Large Solar Telescope (NLST), the National Large Optical-Infrared Telescope (NLOT), the Himalayan Chandra Telescope (HCT) and the COSMOS-2 planetarium - span the full arc of modern astronomy: from studying our own star to probing distant galaxies, and from frontline research to immersive public engagement.

The proposal is in keeping with India's tradition of studying the cosmos, from ancient observational astronomy embedded in temple architecture to the mathematical sophistication of Aryabhata and Bhaskara.

Watching The Sun, After Aditya-L1

Perhaps the most telling of the announcements is the National Large Solar Telescope (NLST). This unique telescope is to be housed on the shores of the Pangong Lake in Ladakh. India recently demonstrated its growing competence in solar science through the highly successful Aditya L1 mission, which now observes the Sun from space. The NLST represents the natural next step: sustained, ultra-high resolution monitoring of the Sun from the ground, complementing space-based data. The new ground-based solar telescope will monitor to better understand when and why the Sun gets angry and sends solar storms towards the Earth.

Planned as a two-metre class optical and near-infrared telescope, NLST will focus on the origin and dynamics of solar magnetic fields, phenomena that drive solar flares, coronal mass ejections and space weather. These are no longer abstract academic concerns. Solar activity can disrupt satellites, power grids and communication networks, making solar physics a matter of national resilience as much as scientific curiosity.

Reaching Deeper Into The Universe

If NLST keeps a close watch on our friendly, life-giving neighbourhood star The Sun, the proposed National Large Optical-Infrared Telescope (NLOT) aims much farther. Envisaged as a 13.7-metre class observatory operating across optical and infrared wavelengths, NLOT will allow Indian astronomers to observe faint and distant objects, exoplanets, star-forming regions and galaxies billions of light years away.

Such a facility places India in a different league of observational astronomy. Large optical-infrared telescopes are the workhorses of modern cosmology, enabling studies of how galaxies formed and how the universe evolved. The Budget announcement suggests that India intends not merely to participate in global astronomy but to host world-class facilities on its own soil.

Hanle And Ladakh: India's Window To The Cosmos

Both NLST and NLOT draw attention to a strategic national asset that has quietly matured over the last two decades - Hanle in Ladakh. The high-altitude cold desert of Changthang offers some of the clearest skies on the planet, low atmospheric water vapour, minimal light pollution and long stretches of cloudless nights.

The Himalayan Chandra Telescope (HCT), operational since 2000, has already demonstrated what Hanle makes possible. Located at one of the world's highest observatory sites, HCT has delivered important results in areas ranging from variable stars to active galaxies. The Budget's commitment to upgrading HCT recognises both its scientific legacy and the extraordinary observing conditions Ladakh provides.

In many ways, Hanle is India's answer to Chile's Atacama or Hawaii's Mauna Kea, a reminder that geography, when paired with sustained investment, can become a scientific advantage. The proposed expansion and site characterisation for larger telescopes underline Ladakh's growing importance in India's astronomical future.

Bringing The Universe To The Public

Astronomy, however, is not only about elite research. The COSMOS-2 planetarium, announced as part of the same package, points to an equally important goal: public engagement. Conceived as a modern, immersive science education hub, COSMOS-2 is meant to spark curiosity and build scientific temper among students and citizens. It is to be made at Amaravati in Andhra Pradesh. Incidentally, Cosmos-1 a similar planetarium is nearing completion in Mysusru.

Big telescopes inspire not just through data, but through imagination. Planetariums translate distant discoveries into shared cultural experiences, ensuring that public investment in science also yields public understanding.

A Notable Absence: ISRO

One detail did not go unnoticed by close observers of the Budget speech: ISRO did not feature explicitly. This silence invites questions. Is it merely a reflection of ongoing, long-term missions already approved and funded? Or could it be linked, at least in part, to recent launch setbacks that have prompted internal reviews? The Budget offers no answers, and any direct connection would be speculative. What is clear, however, is that the government chose to foreground astronomy and astrophysics this year rather than near-term spaceflight narratives. This is even as ISRO is internally assessing what went wrong with back-to-back failures of its workhorse rocket and it prepares for the ambitious Gaganyaan mission.

Science Policy, Not Star-Signs

Taken together, the four telescope announcements suggest a deliberate alignment with rigorous science. The Budget invests in instruments, data and long-term observation, tools that expand knowledge rather than reinforce belief.

Sitharaman's turn toward the stars signals confidence that India's future lies not only in economic growth but also in intellectual leadership. By strengthening its capacity to observe the Sun, the stars and the deep universe, from the rarefied skies of Ladakh to immersive domes in the plains, India is staking a claim to be a serious, sustained presence in global astronomy.

Welcoming the new thrust on astronomy, Lt. Gen. AK Bhatt (retd.), Director General of Indian Space Association (ISpA), New Delhi, said 'the announcement on expanding telescope infrastructure and learning facilities is a meaningful step towards strengthening India's scientific base in astrophysics and astronomy.'