Over 60,000 high school students participated in the Tata Steel's Young Astronomer Talent Search (YATS) 2018-19 programme, creating a record in its 12 year history.
The number of participants this year nearly doubled to 63,000 students from 300 schools of all the 30 districts in Odisha.
Around 32,000 students had participated in the competition last year.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik felicitated 20 winners of the programme at a function held at Pathani Samanta Planetarium here on Thursday, a Tata Steel release said.
The winning group of aspiring astronomers and scientists will get an opportunity to visit one of the premier facilities of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to get a first-hand experience of space science in action, it said.
The theme for this year's competition was "Imagine space exploration, 50 years from now" and it included quiz competitions and essay writing, it said.
Speaking at the programme on Thursday, Arun Misra, vice-president, raw materials, Tata Steel said, "To make the YATS initiative more meaningful, we intend to collaborate with experts, researchers and groups working in the field of astronomy."
The YATS is an initiative of Tata Steel for high school students of the state, organised in association with Pathani Samanta Planetarium, under Odisha's Science and Technology Department.
Congratulating the winners and participants, director, Pathani Samanta Planetarium, Bhubaneswar, Chanakya Chaudhary said, "We seek to create a culture of scientific curiosity among our youth, both for their holistic development and the nation's progress.
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