Keonjhar: Bhawani Bankula, a 15-year-old Class IX student of Saraswati Sishu Vidya Mandir, Katesahi, has made her village Guali in this district proud by emerging among the top 30 winners of the Tata Steel Young Astronomer Talent Search (YATS) 2024. As part of the reward, Bhawani visited ISRO’s Telemetry Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) and UR Rao Satellite Centre (URSC) in Bengaluru.
There, she witnessed satellite development and interacted with top scientists. She also visited the Visvesvaraya Industrial and Technological Museum, enriching her understanding of science and technology. The educational tour, held from May 24 to 28, 2025, was led by Urmiprava Maharana, Deputy Secretary, Department of Science & Technology, Odisha, and Director of Pathani Samanta Planetarium, along with Tata Steel officials. Guardians accompanied the students on the trip. Bhawani, daughter of Harihar and Lilabati Bankula, expressed her excitement, “Thanks to Tata Steel YATS, I had an incredible opportunity to see ISRO’s work up close. This experience strengthened my dream of pursuing a career in space technology.”
The 18th edition of YATS, themed “Will Space Be Your Next Travel Destination?” saw over 71,000 students from Odisha participate. Launched in 2007 by Tata Steel in collaboration with Pathani Samanta Planetarium, the initiative has so far inspired over 4.71 lakh students, with 230 selected for ISRO visits.
