MANGALURU: When the Swami Vivekananda 3D Planetarium at Dr Shivaram Karanth Biological Park in Pilikula near here opens its gates to public in December this year, it will be India’s first such planetarium.Chief minister Siddaramaiah announced that the state-of-the-art planetarium at Pilikula Regional Science Centre (PRSC) at Moodushedde on the city outskirts will be made operational before December 2017 at an estimated cost of Rs 35.69 crore.The planetarium, named after Swami Vivekananda to mark his 150th birth anniversary in 2013, will have all modern innovations coupled with 3D technology to present students and enthusiasts the best learning experience on Planet. PRSC authorities said they had sought additional Rs 5 crore funds for procuring instrumentation. "We have to see what the CM has given additionally apart from announcing its opening,’’ said the authority. Already global tenders have been invited through e-procurement for instrumentation. The instruments will come from either from Japan, France, United States or Germany.The then chief minister Jagadish Shettar had laid the foundation stone for the 3D Planetarium at Dr Shivaram Karanth Biological Park in Pilikula in March 2013. It was supposed to be competed in two years' time, but it has overrun that deadline by two years.Mangaluru is the first city in the country to have this facility on par with cities such as Hong Kong, Macau. The Planetarium will have all modern innovations coupled with 3D technology to present students and enthusiasts the best learning experience on Planet.The 3D Planetarium will be the first of its kind in India considering its technical specifications. The Planetarium in Bengaluru is concentric with central projection and circular seating. However, the new Pilikula Planetarium will be of unidirectional with a dome diameter of 18 meters. About 150 - 180 seats may be fixed based on the size and type of chairs.Currently, there are around 20 planetariums in the world with 3D technology. The Warsaw-based 'Heavens of Copernicus' was the first one to introduce it in Europe. While many adopted "Passive 3D systems", the Eye of Montsec, the UNESCO-supported Starlight Foundation granted Montsec Observatory, Barcelona, is equipped with next generation technology "Active 3D".