Five students have been selected to represent India at the 2025 International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics (IOAA), set to be held in Mumbai this August. The selection was made during the Orientation-cum-Selection Camp (OCSC) organised at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Mohali.

The camp, held by IISER Mohali, provided hands-on training and tested students’ understanding of astronomy and astrophysics. The 37 students who attended the camp were shortlisted from about 500 candidates who appeared for the Indian National Astronomy Olympiad.

Professor Jasjeet Singh Bagla of the Department of Physical Sciences at IISER Mohali said that 54 students had qualified for the camp based on their national-level exam ranks.

Out of them, 37 took part in the training, and five were finally selected to form the national team for IOAA 2025.

SPECIAL AWARDS AND EXPERT SESSIONS MARK THE JOURNEY TO IOAA 2025

The selected students are Aarush Mishra, Sumant Gupta, Banibrata Majee, Panini, and Akshat Srivastava. These students will represent India in the international event, which brings together some of the best young minds in astronomy from across the globe.

Special awards were also given to students based on their performance during the camp. Aarush Mishra received the CL Bhat Memorial Award for overall performance.

Sumant Gupta earned recognition for the best score in the observational test. Akshat Srivastava stood out by winning two awards — for theory and data analysis.

The training at the camp included sessions on telescope handling, sky observation, lectures, and problem-solving tutorials.

The OCSC is usually organised by the Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education (HBCSE), part of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Mumbai.

This year, with HBCSE hosting the IOAA, the task of training and selecting the team was given to IISER Mohali.

Faculty and experts from various institutes, including IIT Kanpur, NISER Bhubaneswar, IUCAA Pune, and others, helped conduct the camp. A guest lecture by Professor Dipankar Bhattacharya of Ashoka University focused on the use of different wavebands in astronomy.