Teenage girl from J&K border village attends ISRO young scientist programme

JAMMU: A teenage girl from a border district in Jammu and Kashmir has garnered admiration among the people in her village for her participation in an ISRO-sponsored young scientist programme.

Bhupinder Kaur, a Class 10 student at the government high school in Abtal village -- a village barely two kilometres from the International Border -- attended YUVIKA or Yuva Vigyani Karyakram (Young Scientist Programme) at Indian Institute of Remote Sensing (IIRS), Dehradun.

Also Read | Somaiya Vidyavihar University selected nodal centre for ISRO’s space science training programme

The programme was initiated in 2019 to spark interest in space science among the youth. Around 350 students from across the country visited the research institute as part of the programme. "ISRO organises the Yuvika young scientist program every year. I didn't know anything about it. My teacher helped me in filling up the forms," Bhupinder said.

"I went to IIRS, Dehradun, where I learnt a lot of things. I got to know the techniques behind building a rocket," Bhupinder said. Her selection for the programme has received a lot of attention in her border village and has made her family proud. "We are really happy of her achievements and the whole village is proud that she got selected. Her teacher who helped her is really happy -- I would say more than us. She has made all of us proud," Bhupinder's mother Amarjit Kaur said.

Also Read | Merck invites application for Young Scientist Award 2023; winner to get Rs 3.5 lakh

"The sky is the limit for her and we really want her to achieve more and make the whole country proud. She will be a role model for other kids in the village," State Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) vice president Gurmail Singh said.