New Delhi, May 14 (IANS) The IndiaSkills Competition 2024 – the country’s biggest skill competition is scheduled to begin here on May 15 in which over 900 students from 30 states and Union Territories will be participating.

The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) has organised an inauguration ceremony at Yashobhoomi, Dwarka, New Delhi for which over 400 industry experts have been invited.

The four-day-long IndiaSkills will allow participants to showcase their diverse skills and talent on a national platform across 61 skills – from traditional crafts to cutting-edge technologies.

While 47 skills competitions will be held onsite, 14 will be held offsite in Karnataka, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Gujarat keeping in mind the availability of best infrastructure. The students will also participate in 9 exhibition skills such as Drone-Film making, Textile-Weaving, Leather-Shoemaking, and prosthetics-makeup.

The students participating in the national-level competition have been trained in ITIs, NSTIs, Polytechnics, institutes of engineering, institutes of nursing, and institutes of biotechnology. This is a testament to the international-standard training Indian youth are receiving in the existing skill network.

Winners of IndiaSkills, with the help of the best industry trainers, will get prepared for the WorldSkills Competition scheduled to take place in Lyon, France in September 2024, which will bring together 1,500 competitors from over 70 countries.

Atul Kumar Tiwari, Secretary, MSDE said that the IndiaSkills Competition opens new avenues of opportunity for the skilled youth, empowering them to dream beyond conventional boundaries and showcase their skills on the global stage.

This year the participants will have the opportunity to earn credits within the National Credit Framework. All skills showcased in both the WorldSkills and IndiaSkills Competitions are aligned with the National Skills Qualification Framework (NSQF), empowering participants to creditise their learning outcomes and lead thriving careers in their chosen fields. It is also the first time that IndiaSkills has incorporated a competition information system called Qrencia.

About 2.5 lakh candidates registered for the competition on the Skill India Digital Hub (SIDH) Portal, out of which 26,000 were shortlisted through a process of pre-screening. This data was shared with the states for organising the state- and district-level competition, out of which over 900 students were further shortlisted for the IndiaSkills National competition.

This year, IndiaSkills is supported by more than 400 Industry and Academic Partners such as Toyota Kirloskar, Autodesk, JK Cement, Maruti Suzuki, Lincoln Electric, NAMTECH, Vega, Loreal, Schneider Electric, Festo India, Artemis, Medanta, and Cygnia Healthcare.