Over 1,000 school students from Odisha take part in YATS 2020

Sambad English Bureau Published On : Dec 15, 2020 at 10:08 PM

Bhubaneswar: More than 1,000 students from schools across Odisha participated in a day long programme organised on the digital platform in view of the pandemic yesterday, as part of the 14th edition of Young Astronomer Talent Search (YATS 2020).

Tata Steel in collaboration with Pathani Samanta Planetarium, under the aegis of Science and Technology Department has been conducting the YATS for school children in Odisha since 2007. The initiative aims to identify and encourage the talents of school children in the field of astronomy and space science by providing them with a platform to test and express their knowledge and to popularise the great contributions of legendary Pathani Samanta.

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In his message Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said, “YATS has proved to be a befitting homage to the great son of Odisha, Pathani Samanta, to attract more and more students to the field of astronomy that he was so passionate about. I hope YATS continues to play its role as a platform for students to identify, nurture and develop their talent in space science, along with creating a community of scholars in the State of Odisha who can contribute to its development on a sustainable basis.”

TV Narendran, CEO and MD, Tata Steel, said: “Tata Steel has a long and illustrious association with Odisha. Apart from setting up industries in the State, the company has been associated with several cultural and community initiatives. One of them is the Young Astronomer Talent Search (YATS) programme launched in 2007, and is one of the most enterprising initiatives for the aspiring young talent in the state. I congratulate all the participants for their participation and effort and hope YATS will continue to inspire young astronomers in the future.”

Among others, Ashok Chandra Panda, Minister, Science & Technology, Public Enterprises; Santosh Kumar Sarangi, Principal Secretary, Science & Technology Department; Laxmidhar Das, Director, Pathani Samanta Planetarium; TV Narendran, CEO & Managing Director, Tata Steel, and Chanakya Chaudhary, Vice President, Corporate Services, Tata Steel were the guests at the programme.

YATS, a unique initiative for high school students of Odisha, has been gaining popularity since its launch and last year around 62,000 students from 300 schools across the 30 districts in the State had taken part in the programme.