ISRO’s Young Scientists Programme stands cancelled due to COVID-19

• After postponing the Young Scientists Programme (YUVIKA) 2020 in April, the event now stands cancelled by the Indian Space Organisation (ISRO).
• ISRO states that it was forced to cancel the event due to difficulties caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
• It has not disclosed any details about next year’s programme or if any provisions will be made for students that missed out this year.
• Check out the latest news and updates on Business Insider.

The Indian Space Research Organisation’s annual Young Scientists Programme— Yuva Vigyani Karyakram (YUVIKA) — has officially been cancelled this year.

“In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and the associated difficulties in organising the program, the YUVIKA 2020 stands cancelled,” ISRO said in a statement.

Originally scheduled between May 11 to May 22 — nearly two weeks over summer vacation — ISRO had already postponed the programme once in April.


YUVIKA 2020 would have been the second-edition of ISRO initiative to create awareness about space technology among youngsters in India.

The programme selects students who are set to begin the tenth grade when the new academic year kicks in. This means that when applications open in February, ninth-graders are selected based on their eighth-grade performance.

It is unclear whether or not the programme will kick start again next year or if any provisions will be made for candidates who may have missed out this time. ISRO is yet to reply to Business Insider’s request for comment.

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