India will become an associate member of particle physics research organization CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research headquartered in Geneva, subject to final approval by the Indian government. An agreement by CERN’s director general Fabiola Gianotti and the chairman of India’s Atomic Energy Commission, Sekhar Basu was signed on November 21, 2016 reports World Nuclear News.
Physicists from India’s Tata Institute of Fundamental Research actively participated in experiments at CERN since the 1960s. They were later joined by scientists from the Raja Ramanna Center for Advanced Technology, Indore, in the 1990s. These and other institutes built components for the LEP accelerator and the L3, WA93 and WA89 detectors. Their scientists participated in important physics analyses and publications throughout the years.
In 1996, India’s Atomic Energy Commission took part in the construction of the Large Hadron Collider and participated in many experiments and initiatives, including establishing LHC Computing Grid centers in Mumbai and Kolkata, after which India was granted Observer status to the CERN Council in 2002.
The Associate Membership will allow India to take part in meetings of the CERN Council and its committees (Finance Committee and Scientific Policy Committee). It will also make Indian scientists eligible for staff appointments.
Once the Agreement enters into force, Indian industry will be entitled to bid for CERN contracts, which will open up opportunities for industrial collaboration in areas of advanced technology.
