Odisha Chief Minister felicitates 20 budding astronomers

Bhubaneswar: Twenty winners of the 10th Edition of Young Astronomer Talent Search (YATS) Program-2016-17, organized by Tata Steel in collaboration with Pathani Samanta Planetarium, Bhubaneswar were felicitated today by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.

They were felicitated in the grand finale function organized on the occasion of the Birth Anniversary of legendary astronomer of Odisha, Pathani Samanta in Bhubaneswar. Tata Steel will take these 20 winners for an exposure visit to one of the facilities of ISRO in 2017.

Commending Tata Steel and Pathani Samanta Planetarium for organizing the event,  Patnaik, said, “I am very happy that Pathani Samanta Planetarium along with Tata Steel is working sincerely to promote scientific legacy of Pathani Samanta in Odisha. This event has been successful in encouraging budding talents of our state in the field of space science. It is an opportunity for the students of rural and remote areas to exhibit their talents in astronomy. I hope this endeavor will be successful in helping our young students to become space scientists in future.”

Addressing the gathering, T V Narendran, MD, Tata Steel, India & South East Asia said, “Tata Steel takes pride in conducting YATS. We have covered many numbers of students across 27 districts of Odisha. Our relationship with Odisha is very long and we are very much grateful to Odisha government and the Chief Minister for their continuous support.”

After a four-month long exercise to find 20 best young talents in the state, YATS concluded on Tuesday. The 10th Edition witnessed participation of nearly  34,000 students from over 300 schools, spread over 27 districts of Odisha in the essay and quiz competitions.

YATS is organised to acknowledge the exemplary contribution of Pathani Samanta, and encourage youngsters to display their talents in scientific innovation and concepts on various themes of space science and astronomy.

Dr Pradeep Kumar Panigrahy, Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology and Rural Development (Rural Water Supply), Government of Odisha, Kailash Chandra Sahoo, Director of Pathani Samanta Planetarium and Arun Misra, Vice President, Project Gopalpur, Tata Steel and Managing Director, Tata Steel SEZ and Chanakya Choudhary, Group Director, Corporate Communication and Regulatory Affairs, Tata Steel were among the dignitaries present on the occasion.