Context:

• The Indian Space Research Organisation has launched a special programme for school children called Yuva Vigyani Karyakram or Young Scientist Programme.
• The programme aims at imparting basic knowledge on space technology, space science and space applications to the younger ones with the intent of arousing their interest in the emerging areas of space activities.
• ISRO has come up with this young scientist programme to ‘catch them young’. The residential training programme will be conducted during the summer holidays. It will be held for duration of around two weeks.
• Under the programme, three students each will be selected to participate in it every year from each state and union territory, covering CBSE, ICSE and state syllabus.
• ISRO has approached the chief secretaries of the respective states and administrators of Union Territories in India to arrange for the selection of three students from each of their states and union territories and communicate the list to ISRO.
• The eligibility for being chosen for the programme includes those students who have finished 8th standard and are currently studying in the 9th standard.
• Besides this, the selection will be based on the academic performance and extracurricular activities of the students, as per the selection criteria already circulated to the chief secretaries of the states and administrators of Union Territories.
• Each state and union territory is expected to submit the list of selected candidates to ISRO by the end of March 2019.
• The students belonging to rural areas have been given special weightage under the selection criteria set by ISRO.