20 budding astronomers of the 11th Edition of Tata Steel Young Astronomer Talent Search (YATS) felicitated by Chief Minister of Odisha

Chief Minister of Odisha, Shri Naveen Patnaik, felicitated top 20 winners of the 11th Edition of Young Astronomer Talent Search (YATS) Programme-2017-18, in a grand function held at Pathani Samanta Planetarium, Bhubaneswar. The winners will also get a special opportunity to go on an exposure visit to one of the premier facilities of Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO).

Present on the occasion were Shri Badri Narayan Patra, Minister, School and Mass Education, Science & Technology, Government of Odisha, Dr Prasanna Kumar Patasani, MP, Bhubaneswar, Shri Nikunja Bihari Dhal, Commissioner-cum-Secretary, Science & Technology Department, Shri T V Narendran, CEO & Managing Director, Tata Steel, Shri Arun Misra, Vice President, Project Gopalpur- Tata Steel and Managing Director, Tata Steel SEZ, Shri Chanakya Chaudhary, Group Director, Corporate Communication & Regulatory Affairs, Tata Steel.

While appreciating the efforts of Tata Steel and Pathani Samanta Planetarium for organizing such a unique event, Shri Patnaik expressed hope that YATS continues to become an important platform for students to identify, nurture and develop their talent along with creating a community of scholars in the State of Odisha who contribute to its development.

Shri Badri Narayan Patra, Minister, School and Mass Education, Science & Technology, said, we look forward to more youth from our State take on different roles in leadership; towards this, it merits that they be given proper exposure in different fields including science, sports and allied streams of education and YATS could be the launchpad for emerging space scientists from Odisha.

Congratulating participants and winners of 11th edition of YATS, Shri T V Narendran said, we have multiple programmes to engage with students of Schools and Colleges in Odisha which give them platforms to express their thoughts, ideas and benefit from knowledge sharing.

On the occasion, Shri Naveen Patnaik felicitated a young achiever from Odisha, Dr Susmita Mohanty, Co-Founder & CEO, Earth2Orbit, a spaceship designer and serial space entrepreneur on a global platform.

During the day, Dr Mohanty had a highly interactive and inspirational session with the YATS finalists and other visiting school students on her journey in the field of space science. She shared some practical tips to explore non-traditional career options in areas like space science.

After a four-month long exercise to find 20 best young talents in the state, YATS concluded today. The 11th Edition witnessed participation of more than 32000 students from 300 schools, spread over 30 districts of Odisha. The theme for this year’s competition was ‘Celebrating achievements of India in space science’ which included topical writing and quiz competitions on various aspects of India’s space programme.

YATS is being organised by Tata Steel in association with Pathani Samanta Planetarium since 2007 to acknowledge the exemplary contribution of Pathani Samanta, legendary astronomer of Odisha, and encourage youngsters to display their talents in scientific innovation and concepts on various themes of space science and astronomy.

On this occasion, the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) organized an informative two-day exhibition, at the premises of Pathani Samanta Planetarium, Bhubaneswar. The exhibition will remain open from 10 am to 5 pm on 13th & 14th December 2017. Regional Science Centre, Bhubaneswar had also set up an exhibition on the occasion.

About Tata Steel

Tata Steel Group is among the top global steel companies with an annual crude steel capacity of 27.5 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) as on March 31, 2017. It is the world’s second-most geographically-diversified steel producer, with operations in 26 countries and a commercial presence in over 50 countries. The Group recorded a consolidated turnover of US $18.12 billion (INR 117,420 crore) in FY17. Tata Steel Group is spread across five continents with an employee base of nearly 74,000. Having bagged the Deming Application Prize and Deming Grand Prize for continuous improvement in 2008 and 2012 respectively, Tata Steel has now been recognised as the global ‘Industry Leader’ in ‘Steel category’ by Dow Jones Sustainability Index (2015). Besides being a member of the World Steel Climate Action Programme, Tata Steel has also been felicitated with several awards including the Prime Minister’s Trophy for the best performing integrated steel plant for 2013-14 (received in 2017), Best Risk Management by CNBC TV18 (2016), ‘Best-in-class Manufacturing’ award from TIME India (2016) and the ‘Most Ethical Company’ award from the Ethisphere Institute (2016), IIM Sustainability Award (2015), among several others.

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