The recent detection of gravitational waves did more than just confirm Einstein's theory of relativity; it provided our first direct observational evidence of the existence of black holes. That finding highlights LIGO's new job as an astronomical observatory, able to track some of the most energetic events in the Universe—and possibly discover entirely new classes of events.

But with only two detectors, it's hard to pinpoint where an event is happening. That also makes it hard to direct other instruments to the site, meaning we can't observe the event in visible light or other wavelengths. Which would be rather disappointing if the event's gravitational signal suggests it's something new. Things will get somewhat better when the European VIRGO instrument and Japan's KAGRA detector are integrated with LIGO.

But things are likely to get even better with LIGO-India , which would place a LIGO-style interferometer at a site to be determined in India. While approval only came this week, the project has been under consideration for a while. The site-selection process has already started, and a facility is being built that would receive and validate the LIGO hardware before its installation.

Stanley Whitcomb, the LIGO chief scientist, said, "With LIGO-India added to the network, we will not only detect more sources, we will dramatically increase the number of sources that can be pinpointed so that they can be studied using other types of telescopes." Since the hardware has already been built and obviously works, getting LIGO-India online could potentially be done relatively quickly—one person involved with the project suggested it could begin taking data by 2023.

In addition to the astronomical benefits, the project should help India integrate further into the international scientific community. The Cabinet released a statement that said in part, "The project will motivate Indian students and young scientists to explore newer frontiers of knowledge, and will add further impetus to scientific research in the country."