The lndia Skills 2018 contest held in Delhi from October 2-5, 2018, organised by the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) saw over 400 young participants from 27 states and union territories competing in 46 skills, 10 traditional skills and 4 demo skills. This was the second edition of the nationwide competition to identify, recognise, promote and reward the best talents in various skills. Over 50,000 youth registered for the competition and 500 contests were held over 3 months at the district and state level across skill sets in carpentry, bakery, cooking, patisserie & confectionery, graphic design, web design, beauty therapy, mechanical CAD, automobile technology and fashion technology.
The 164 winners were felicitated by Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Anant Kumar Hegde. Maharashtra led the medals tally with 23 medals followed by Odisha (21 medals), Delhi and Karnataka won 16 medals each, and Chandigarh finished fifth with 12 medals.
There were a number of ‘firsts’:
- For the first time, 33 young men and women from Odisha participated in the competition winning a total number of 19 medals among that 4 gold, 9 silver and 6 bronze medals, in addition to two Medallions of This took Odisha to number two spot behind Maharastra by just one medal.
- Jammu and Kashmir were represented for the first time by six youth from the state winning Medallions of Excellence in Patisserie & Confectionery and in Mobile Robotics
- The Punjab Skill Development Mission for the first time organised skill competitions at the zonal level in 42 skills in which 4800 candidates participated which ultimately led to 14 youth participating at the national competition in Delhi where the Punjab team won three gold, one silver, two bronze and two Medallions of Excellence.
- Four new ‘Demo Skills’ were introduced in Hotel Receptionist, Cyber Security, Cloud Computing and Water Technology, with the aim to prepare youth for future-ready professions.
- Abilympics or the ‘Olympics of Abilities’ for candidates with disabilities was a new addition that saw overwhelming response from 50 participants in ten skill trades such as computer programming, website development, data processing, photography, embroidery and painting, among others.
The Industry was represented by Ola awarding a cash prize of Rs. 20,000 to the winner in the Autobody Repair and Automobile Technology category, Axalta Coating Systems awarded Rs.25,000 for Sustainable Practice Award in Car Painting, and Paytm awarded insurance up to Rs. 1 lakh to all gold and silver medalists winners.
The winners will receive advanced training by Berger Paints in association with Paints and Coatings Skill Council and NSDC to prepare for the WorldSkills Competition to be held in Kazan, Russia in 2019.
