GMRT Competition Guidelines

Please follow these guidelines when preparing and submitting your science project.

Introduction:

February 28th is celebrated as National Science Day all over the country, commemorating the discovery of the Raman Effect by C.V. Raman, for which he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1930.

Each year, Science Day is celebrated at the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) observatory at Khodad. The GMRT, which is the world's most powerful telescope operating at low radio frequencies, was built and is being operated by the National Centre for Radio Astrophysics (NCRA) of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR). Although the prime activity at NCRA and GMRT is to carry out frontline research in radio astronomy and astrophysics, and develop state-of-the-art instrumentation for this purpose, NCRA and GMRT observatory also have programmes to popularise science and technology among the general public, especially the student community.

The Science Day celebrations comprise a major component of our outreach programmes. Science Day events are usually spread over two days starting 28th of February, in order to cater to the tremendous response from the general public, especially the students from the schools and colleges in the rural and semi-urban areas and districts in the western Maharashtra, especially those near the GMRT observatory. It is perhaps one of the largest Science Day events in rural India, with about a hundred schools, colleges and institutions participating, and over 25000 people visiting the observatory every year during the two-day event.

The programme consists of a grand Science Exhibition, where children from schools and colleges exhibit their science projects, and prizes are given for the best entries in different age groups. In addition, there are exhibitions illustrating astronomical themes and concepts, exciting results obtained with the GMRT, various subsystems of the GMRT and illustrative models. There are also exhibits and live demonstrations from various research institutes and science popularisation groups, as well as teaching institutions such as the University of Pune and various national laboratories. There are also programmes to interact with well-known scientists and engineers and film shows on astronomical topics of current interest.

Objectives:
  • To provide a forum/platform to rural students and innovators, and those who are interested in science, engineering and technology from the surrounding environment and support them to connect new ideas to their existing ideas from materials and activities
  • To explore and encourage scientific, engineering and technological talent and creative thinking among children and inculcate in them a sense of pride in their talent
  • To developed an understanding about the role of science, engineering and technology to meet the needs of the society
  • To encourage the students, farmers and people who wish to visit the GMRT
  • To explain to all visitors how GMRT works and its applications through live demonstration and Video clips
  • To motivate the youth that science, engineering and technology are instrument for achieving self-reliance in socio-economic development
  • To encourage them as the architects of the nation and visualize the future of the nation

Guidelines and Rules for GMRT Virtual Science Exhibition 2026

Major Milestones and Dates
  1. Project Registration starts - 10 Dec 2025
  2. Last date for project Submission and Video upload – 25 Feb 2026
  3. Inaugurate the Online Science Exhibition – 28 Feb 2026 (Tentitive)
  4. Public viewing and review period – 28 Feb to 30 April 2026
  5. Declaration of Result – May 2026
Who can Participant in the GMRT Virtual Science Exhibition?

The participants shall be as per the table below:

Sr. No. Groups / Category Participants in Group / Category
1 Group I Standard V to VII
2 Group II Standard VIII to X
3 Group III Standard XI to XII and ITI
4 Group IV Degree – B.Sc. BCS, Diploma
5 Group V Engineering, M.Sc., M.Tech.
6 Group VI Teachers and Lab Assistant
How to participate in the GMRT Virtual Science Exhibition:
  1. Participants shall Register through website https:www.growingdots.com GMRT Science Day - Growing Dots through provided link by Organizing committee.
  2. School/College information will use for preparation of Participant Certificate (please fill the all information carefully)
  3. Projects can be submitted by individuals or a group from a school or college
  4. Participants must follow all the time schedules
  5. After screening, results of the winners, runners-up will be declared/published on GMRT Science Day - Growing Dots mobile app and on GMRT’s website
  6. All participants will receive a soft copy of the Participation Certificate.
  7. The Organizing committee’s decision on the results will be final.
Project Submission Guidelines
  1. Projects must be uploaded using the GMRT Science Day - Growing Dots website.
  2. Projects must be uploaded before last date for submission of projects
  3. Participation form information will be used for preparation of “Participant Certificate” (please fill the all information carefully).
  4. Along with the project video, participants also need to submit additional information like the project title, material used, benefits to society etc.
  5. The video duration must not be more than 5 mins.
  6. Oversized videos will not be accepted by system
Video Making Guidelines
  1. Please use good quality camera/mobile camera for recording
  2. Please make sure that the audio is clearly recorded and the video clearly shows the aspects which the project is trying to highlight.
  3. Need to capture proper understandable view while recording
  4. Participant needs to record, with audio and video, all the process of project/experiment which will cover following points
    • Complete working Project/Model etc.
    • Photo of participants and teacher
    • All participants should wear ID cards while demonstrating the project
    • Visual recording of actual process flow with audio explanation in background
    • The explanation must include the concept, design and innovation, the subject knowledge/basis of demonstration and presentation skills etc.
    • Result / Conclusion Statement
    • Video recording not more than 5 mins
Video Resizing Guidelines
  1. Videos larger than 70 MB cannot be uploaded.
  2. If your recorded video is larger, its size can be reduced with help of the following steps:
  3. Go to website:https://convert-video-online.com/
  4. Click on Open File and select your project video file.
  5. Select Video tab
  6. Select Resolution – DVD
  7. Press button Convert - Bottom on the screen
  8. Download resized video clicking on the link
Result declaration and Prizes

The date of announcement of results is yet to be decided. Awards will be given for the following ranks

  • Rank
    1. Winner
    2. Runner up 1
    3. Runner up 2
    4. Consolation Prize 1
  • Prizes
    1. Trophy and Certificate to all Rank holders
    2. Participation Certificate to each participant
Certificates distribution:

Every Participant and winner will get their certificate online through GMRT Science Day - Growing Dots mobile app.

Helpline (for any query)

8149747524 | 9422505478 | 02132 258300

Back to Projects