Active participation of more than 40 thousand students of Odisha in last 10 years, of whom 120 winners visited ISRO

The Young Astronomer Talent Search (YATS) 2016-17 winners’ sojourn – a week-long trip to the Space Application Centre (SAC) of Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) in Ahmedabad – concluded on May 23, 2017.  A total of 20 school students from across Odisha were declared winners and sent to ISRO as an appreciation of their effort.

YATS is a unique initiative of Tata Steel, organised in collaboration with the Pathani Samanta Planetarium, under  Science and Technology Department, Government of Odisha which is aimed at creating awareness in the field of astronomy and space science among students, besides motivating and encouraging the young minds to become Scientists and Astronomers. It provides an opportunity to the students in rural and remote areas of the State to exhibit their talent and come to the forefront in the field of astronomy.

In the 10th year of the initiative, the students were given an opportunity to learn about various aspects of operations of ISRO and evolution of the Indian space programme. The team comprising 10 boys and 10 girls, each accompanied by his/her guide teacher, visited various laboratories of SAC Ahmedabad and interacted with the scientists-in-charge who explained the finer details of the research work they were engaged in.

During his interaction with the students, Mr Tapan Misra, Director, SAC, ISRO, Ahmedabad lauded the efforts of Tata Steel and the planetarium for organising such a competition and also facilitating a unique experience for the students in the form of a visit to ISRO facilities. Later, the students went for a visit of Gujarat Science City in Ahmedabad. The exposure visit was flagged off by Chief Minister of Odisha Shri Naveen Patnaik on May 15, 2017.

Under YATS, the company identifies and encourages young talent from high schools across the State in the field of astronomy and space science. In order to provide world-class exposure to young talents of Odisha, each year a total of 20 winners from classes IX-X across Odisha are selected based on an essay-writing and quiz competitions and are thereafter sent on an exposure trip to different centres of ISRO.

More than forty thousand young science enthusiasts of the state have participated in YATS in the last 10 years and 120 winning students had the opportunity to visit various facilities of ISRO in India. During the finals of this 10th edition of YATS, held on December 13, 2017 at Bhubaneswar, an added attraction was the ten-day ISRO Exhibition organised by the company.

About Tata Steel

Tata Steel Group stands among the top global steel companies with an annual crude steel capacity of 28 million tonnes per annum (MnTPA) and a turnover of US $17.69 billion in FY16. It is the world's second-most geographically-diversified steel producer, with operations in 26 countries and commercial presence in over 50 countries. Established in 1907, the Group’s vision is to be the world steel industry benchmark in “Value Creation” and “Corporate Citizenship” through the excellence of its people, approach and overall conduct. Underpinning this vision is a performance culture committed to aspiration targets, safety and social responsibility, continuous improvement, openness and transparency. 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. Besides being one of ‘worldsteel’s’ Climate Action members, it has also been awarded the CII ITC Sustainability Prize, the ‘Best-in-class Manufacturing’ by TIME Award, the Prime Minister’s Trophy for the best performing integrated steel plant, among several others.

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Statements in this press release describing the Company’s performance may be “forward looking statements” within the meaning of applicable securities laws and regulations. Actual results may differ materially from those directly or indirectly expressed, inferred or implied. Important factors that could make a difference to the Company’s operations include, among others, economic conditions affecting demand/ supply and price conditions in the domestic and overseas markets in which the Company operates, changes in or due to the environment, Government regulations, laws, statutes, judicial pronouncements and/ or other incidental factors.

Kulvin Suri

Chief, Corporate Communications, India & SEA

Tata Steel

E-mail: kulvinsuri@tatasteel.com