CM felicitates 20 budding astronomers of Tata Steel's YATS

Twenty winners of the 10th edition of Young Astronomer Talent Search programme, organised by Tata Steel in collaboration with Pathani Samanta Planetarium, Bhubaneswar were felicitated today by Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.
They were felicitated in the grand finale function organised yesterday 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.
"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 in the field of space science. It is an opportunity for students of rural and remote areas to exhibit their talents in astronomy," Patnaik said.

Addressing the gathering, T V Narendran, MD, Tata Steel, India & South East Asia said, "Tata Steel takes pride in conducting Young Astronomer Talent Search programme. 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 exercise to find 20 best young talents in the state, 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, a Tata Steel release said.

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.