Contents
- The Chinese JUNO vs. the Indian INO
- Fighting the fire
The Chinese JUNO vs. the Indian INO
Why is it in News?
- China has been building the Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory (JUNO) in 2025 and released its first scientific achievement papers (November 18).
- Meanwhile, India The India-based Neutrino Observatory (INO) has remained stood still for more than ten yearsdespite being conceptualized earlier than JUNO.
- JUNO has now started reporting precision measurements (θ₁₂), while INO is stuck due to environmental, political and procedural hurdles.
Relevance
GS2 – Management
- Center– Failures in state coordination.
- Environmental purification regime.
- Public communication in scientific projects.
- Political economy of large scientific infrastructure.
GS3 – Science and technology
- Indigenous capacity for high-energy physics.
- Impact of delays on global scientific status.
- Role of Big Science in technology development (detectors, PMTs, computing).
Practice question
- Investigate the reasons for the long delay of the India-based Neutrino Observatory (INO). Discuss its implications for India‘s scientific progress compared to China‘s JUNO project. Suggest governance reforms needed to implement Big Science projects in India. (250 words)
What are neutrinos?
- Fundamental, chargeless subatomic particles.
- Three flavors: electron, muon, tau.
- Extremely weak interaction with matter → huge detectors needed.
- To show neutrino oscillationwhich implies that neutrinos have mass.
- Main unsolved puzzle: neutrino mass ordering (normal vs. inverted hierarchy).
Why big detectors?
- Probability of neutrino interaction ≈ 10⁻³⁸ cm² → require kiloton-scale materials and natural shielding (mountains, underground laboratories).
INO: Original vision
- Suggested: 50 kiloton Magnetized Iron Calorimeter Detector (ICAL) at Theni, Tamil Nadu.
- The overloading of the mountains would provide this 1 km rock protection.
- Scientific objective: determine neutrino mass hierarchy use of atmospheric neutrinos.
- Built by a national consortium led by TIFR, IMSC, BARTSetc.
- Estimated cost ~₹1,500–1,800 crore.
Why is INO stuck?
A. Environmental and local opposition
- Fear of “radioactivity” due to DAE involvement.
- Concerns: explosions, tunnel construction, impact on aquifers, wildlife.
- Project misunderstood as a ‘nuclear waste’ facility.
B. Procedural errors (documented afterwards)
- Delayed environmental permits.
- Insufficient local consultation at an early stage.
- Inadequate risk communication strategy.
- Underestimation of political sensitivities.
C. Governance and Federal Challenges
- Withdrawal of Tamil Nadu government → land transfer issues.
- Disputes in Madras HC and NGT.
- Repeated requests for fresh EIA.
D. Strategic timing
- International collaborations faltered due to uncertain timelines.
- Competing projects (such as JUNO) developed quickly.
JUNO: China’s rise in big science
Main features
- Location: Jiangmen, Guangdong.
- Liquid scintillator detector: 20,000 tons.
- Light sensors: ~18,000 large PMTsone of the most advanced in the world.
- Depth: ~700 m rock overburden.
- Budget: ~$300 million.
Progress
- Expected completion: 2020 → postponed until 2025 but eventually built.
- Two released large preprints in November 2025:
- First performance results (detector calibration, resolution).
- Precision measurement of θ₁₂ (consistent with global data).
Internationality
- Authors from ~20 countries; no Indian scientists presentdespite India’s long expertise.
Scientific meaning
Neutrino oscillations
- Measured via mixing angles: i₁₂i₁₃i₂₃.
- θ₁₃ previously measured by Daya Bay (China), Double Chooz (France) and RENO (Korea).
- JUNO aims to determine:
- Precision testing of 3-flavor oscillation framework
- Search for new physics beyond the standard model.
INO‘s Niche
- INO’s magnetized detector would uniquely measure:
- Charge identification of muon neutrinos.
- Better sensitivity to mass hierarchy via Earth’s matter effects.
Comparison INO vs JUNO
Scientific ability
- JUNO
- Strength: ultra-high energy resolution.
- Goal: precise θ₁₂, mass hierarchy, new physics.
- INO
- Strength: magnetic field → charge discrimination.
- Unique capabilities that no other detector worldwide offers.
Financing and governance
- JUNO: Strong state support, integrated planning, political support.
- INO: Multi-level approvals, friction at the state center, lawsuits.
Stakeholder management
- JUNO:
- Strong early community involvement.
- Clear communication about safety.
- INO:
- Miscommunication → public distrust.
- Project wrongly labeled as ‘nuclear’.
Timelines
- JUNO: ~12 years (2013–2025).
- INO: Proposed 2005; still pending.
Why is India’s absence from JUNO’s author list important?
- India has a historical record:
- 1965: India detects atmospheric neutrinos at Kolar Gold Fields for the first time.
- Strong theoretical groups (IMSc, TIFR).
- Absence indicates:
- Financing instability → foreign partnerships hesitate.
- Administrative delays diminish India’s global credibility.
- Missed opportunity in two border areas: neutrinos and moon samples.
Key lessons
A. Big science ≠ Only scientists
Need:
- Political buy-in.
- Local cooperation.
- Clearances carried out correctly.
- Strong communication strategy.
- Stable multi-year financing.
B. Delays reduce strategic leverage
- Frontier science is developing rapidly.
- If India misses one window, the next is needed much more advanced options.
c. “Resource constraints are often administrative rather than material in nature
- India is investing heavily in:
- LIGO-India (~₹2,600 crore)
- Major collaborations in the field of telescopes
- So neutrino science didn’t fail just because of money.
Fighting the fire
Why is it in News?
- COP30 ended in CallAndM, Brazilmarking 10 years since the 2015 Paris Agreement.
- Global temperatures exceeded the 1.5°C threshold for the first time in 2024, increasing the urgency.
- Brazil tried to change the narrative promises → execution.
- Strong focus on amendment, just a transitionAnd multilateral cooperationamid geopolitical fragmentation.
- India took an active part, but has not updated its NDCs.
Relevance
GS2 – AND
- Multilateral climate diplomacy
- Negotiation policy
- North-South divide
GS3 – Environment
- Basics of climate science
- Paris Agreement
- NDC framework
- Adaptation versus mitigation
- Just a transition
- Loss and damage financing
GS1 – Geography
- Amazon ecosystem, patterns of global warming.
Practice question
- COP30 seeks to shift climate negotiations from ambition to implementation. Critically analyze the opportunities and limitations for such a shift. (250 words)
What is COP?
- Conference of Parties (COP): Annual meeting of 198 parties to the UNFCCC to negotiate climate action.
- Mandates include:
- Setting global climate goals
- Develop rules for mitigation, adaptation and financing
- Negotiating equality and burden sharing.
Paris Agreement (2015) — Foundations
- Global temperature target:
- Limit the increase to well under 2°c.
- Preferably 1.5°c above pre-industrial levels.
- Each country submits Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).
- Principles:
- CBDR-RC (Common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities)
- Progressive ambition: NDCs must be improved every five years.
- Climate finance obligation for developed countries.
Why is 2024-2025 a turning point?
- 2024 is the first year that global temperatures have been exceeded 1.5°C (not yet the “new normal”, but a warning).
- Emissions trends show that the world is on course ~2.5–2.9°Global warming by 2100.
- Extreme events (heat, floods, forest fires, threat of Amazon extinction) are increasing.
- Hardening of global climate blocks:
- Developed block: Pushing for deadlines for phasing out fossil fuels.
- Development/petro states: equity, finance, development space.
Why Belém (Amazon) is important?
- Symbolic choice:
- Amazon = the world’s largest carbon sink; suffer from severe deforestation, drought and fires.
- Brazil wants to position itself as the leader of the Global South And Amazon protection diplomacy.
What COP30 Tried to Change – “COP Implementation”
Shift of promises → action
- After a decade of lofty promises, real progress on the ground remains limited.
- Brazil has pushed:
- Implementation frameworks
- Accountability mechanisms
- Cooperative multilateralism (“collective effort”).
Main themes
A. Adjustment
- Recognizes that the consequences of warming are already inevitable.
- Areas of focus:
- Climate-proof infrastructure
- Adaptation financing after 2025.
B. A just transition
- Addresses social and economic disruptions caused by energy shifts.
- Protect:
- Ensures that sustainability does not worsen inequality.
C. Finances
- Renewed pressure, but no solid commitments.
- $100 billion/year obligation has still not been fully met.
- Developing countries asked for:
The role of India
- Vocal leader of developing countries (G77 + China positions).
- A welcome focus on equality, adaptation and just transition.
- Has not updated its NDCs, stating:
- Various objectives for 2030 (renewable capacity, emission intensity) have already been amply achieved.
- Continues to oppose:
- Forced phasing out of fossil fuels
- One-size-fits-all mitigation roadmaps.
Results – Profits and deficits
Gain
- Adaptation and just transition increased.
- Recognized Significance of Amazon Protection.
- Renewed commitment to multilateralism.
- A stronger story about equality.
Shortages
- No consensus on fossil fuel phase-out versus phase-out.
- The financing gaps remain unresolved.
- The absence of the US reduced negotiating power on mitigation.
- Incremental progress compared to the scale of the crisis.
Broader implications
- Climate denial, pollution, deforestation are increasing despite COP efforts.
- The global inventory shows that current policy is inadequate.
- The COP process remains slow, but is still the only multilateral forum capable of collective climate action.
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