March 12, 2026

On March 11, 2026, Dr. V Narayanan, Secretary, DOS/ Chairman, ISRO, inaugurated the fourth edition of ISRO’s introductory-level online awareness programme, Space science and Technology AwaReness Training (START-2026).

The 2026 edition of START focuses on the theme "Observation from Space," utilizing orbital platforms to study Earth, the solar system, and beyond.The course features 26 lectures, to be delivered by pan-India experts, including scientists and engineers from ISRO/DOS. The lectures will be concluded on April 2, 2026, following which there will be an online examination for the participants registered with the nodal centres. The current edition involves a few hundreds of academic institutes acting as nodal centres across India, where students participate in group-learning and are eligible for merit certificates based on their performance in the upcoming final online examination, after the completion of START-2026.

During the inaugural address, Dr. V Narayanan, Secretary, DOS/ Chairman, ISROemphasized on the importance of motivating the student community to join the nation-building activities through India’s space exploration programme. He mentioned about the global trend in space exploration, and how India is going to excel, working with the international partners as a resourceful global contributor. In that direction, he emphasized on excelling in the academic domain, as well as to nurture cross-disciplinary awareness. He further emphasized that many of the student participants will be the leaders to take forward country’s space exploration journey. Shri A S Kiran Kumar spoke about the success of the START programme since its inception in year 2023. Since its first edition, the START programme has benefited over 1.2 lacs of students, faculty members and space enthusiasts all over the country. He also spoke about how a mechanism is established to identify the meritorious students from START and facilitate their further exposure to space sciences through ISRO’s biennial National Space Science Symposium. He further elaborated on how a group of students from the previous editions of START were provided opportunities to present their ideas and work in a specially curated student session in NSSS-2026, which was organized at NESAC, Umiam, Meghalaya.Scientific Secretary, ISRO, Shri M. Ganesh Pillai spoke on the consistent improvement of this programme, and how each edition is benefiting the student community. He further mentioned that this effort is in orientation with the National Education Policy where the holistic perspective of knowledge is encouraged. Dr. Raghavendra Pratap Singh, Director, IIRS, ISRO, mentioned that, gathering experience and feedback from the previous editions, this edition of START will witness several enhancements in terms of student-benefit.

The START programme is recognized as a strategic initiative to attract post-graduate and final-year undergraduate students of physical sciences and technology to the space sector.

By providing a holistic overview of the cross-disciplinary nature of space activities, ISRO aims to foster "system-level thinking" among the youth. This effort aligns with the "Amrut Kaal" vision for 2047, systematically building the human resources required to lead major national goals, such as the Indian Space Station and crewed lunar landings.

The inaugural ceremony was attended from ISRO Headquarters by Dr. V Narayanan, Secretary, DOS/ Chairman, ISRO, Shri A S Kiran Kumar, former Secretary, DOS/ Chairman, ISRO, member, space commission, chair, Apex Science Board of ISRO, Shri M Ganesh Pillai, Scientific Secretary, ISRO, Dr. Tirtha Pratim Das, Director, Space Science Programme, ISRO Headquarters, and Dr. Praveen Kumar K, Deputy Director, Science Programme Office, ISRO Headquarters, while Dr. Raghavendra Pratap Singh, Director, IIRS, ISRO attended from IIRS, Dehradun. The online event was also attended by the Directors of ISRO/DOS centres/units/autonomous bodies, the scientists/engineers from ISRO/DOS, as well as Pan-India academicians, researchers, students, and space enthusiasts through ISRO’s official social media platform.

Following the inaugural ceremony, the course commenced with thecontext lecture titled "What, Why and How do we Observe from Space," delivered by Dr. Tirtha Pratim Das, Director of the Science Programme Office, ISRO HQ.

The inaugural event and the START-2026 context lecture can be attended through the following link: https://www.youtube.com/live/vxusHltqyd8

Left: Chairman, ISRO / Secretary, DOS inaugurating the START-2026 event online, from ISRO Headquarters; Right: Director, IIRS delivering the welcome address from IIRS, Dehradun