Bhubaneswar: Thirty students from across Odisha, selected as winners of the prestigious Tata Steel Young Astronomer Talent Search (YATS) 2025, began their educational tour to ISRO’s Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network and UR Rao Satellite Centre at Bengaluru Friday. The initiative, jointly organised by Tata Steel and Pathani Samanta Planetarium under Science and Technology department of the state, aims to ignite scientific curiosity among school students and provide real-world exposure to space science and technology.
This is the 18th edition of YATS, which has grown steadily in scale and impact. Speaking at the flag-off ceremony, Sarvesh Kumar, Chief of Corporate Communication at Tata Steel, said, “Over the past 17 years, YATS has become a launch pad for budding scientists. Many of our past participants are now pursuing higher studies, some even abroad. This year, with support from the Government of Odisha, we’ve increased the number of selected students from 20 to 30. We are overjoyed to see their dreams taking flight. Congratulations to all students – stay safe and enjoy the journey.” Welcoming the participants, Pathani Samanta Planetarium director Urmiprava Maharana said, “We’re not just sending students to ISRO – we’re launching dreams. YATS is a talent competition that this year received over 71,000 entries from across Odisha. The 30 selected students represent the best of young scientific minds. This planetarium is named after legendary Odia astronomer Pathani Samanta, and we believe every student has the potential to be a modern-day Pathani Samanta when given the right exposure and encouragement.”
She added, “We sincerely thank Tata Steel for its unwavering commitment to science and education, and express our gratitude to the Government of Odisha and ISRO for opening their doors to our students.” Science and Technology department principal secretary and chairperson of Pathani Samanta Planetarium Chithra Arumugam also attended the event and extended her best wishes to the students.
