Karnataka wins 16 medals at IndiaSkills 2018, All set to make a remarkable entry in WorldSkills 2019

Bangalore, October 12, 2018: In the IndiaSkills2018, Karnataka won a total number of 16 medals among that 7 gold, 5 silver and 3 bronze medals. In addition the state has also secured one Medallion for Excellence. There were 23 young men and women from Karnataka, who took part in the prestigious national skill championship- after passing the state and regional level competition.

Congratulating the winners, Dharmendra Pradhan, Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, said, “Congratulations to the winners of IndiaSkills 2018. I am hopeful and confident that they will go on to bring laurels for the country in World Skills Competition to be held in Russia in August 2019. I complement the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship for the successful completion of India Skills Competition.”

More than 400 competitors from 27 states displayed their skills in 46 skills, 7 traditional skills and 4 demo skills, before experts and jury members. More than 15,000 A total of 164 winners were awarded medals in their respective skill categories. Of these, 45 won gold medals, while 47 won silver and the bronze medal went to 43 winners. Maharashtra topped the medals tally with 23 medals, followed by Odisha, which had 21 winners. Karnataka and Delhi came third with 16 medals each, while Chandigarh finished in the fifth position with 12 medals.

More than 50,000 youth had registered for the IndiaSkills 2018; 500 competitions were held across 3 months at the district and state level. In keeping with the norms of the

WorldSkills International competition, each skill category has three winners of the Gold, Silver and Bronze medals. A new addition has been the Medallion of Excellence that was awarded to competitors who have scored more than 700 marks. An interesting feature of IndiaSkills 2018 has been the introduction of four new skills. Referred to as Demo Skills, these categories are Hotel Receptionist, Cyber Security, Cloud Computing and Water Technology, skills that have been included with an eye for preparing the youth in future-ready professions.

Abilympics or the ‘Olympics of Abilities’ for candidates with disabilities (PwDs) was also a novel addition that has seen overwhelming response from participants. Day 1 of the National Abilympic Vocational Skills Competitions saw 50 participants competing in 10 different skill trades, including Computer Programming, Creating Web Pages, Data Processing, Word Processing, Photography, Poster Designing, Embroidery, Waste Reuse, Painting and Restaurant Service.

IndiaSkills saw a huge support from corporate India, with Ola awarding a cash prize of Rs. 20,000 to the Gold Medalist in the Autobody Repair and Automobile Technology category. Axalta Coating Systems gave away a cash prize of Rs.25,000 for Sustainable Practice Award in Car Painting. The event also saw Paytm awarding insurance up to Rs. 1 lakh to all Gold and Silver medalists for IndiaSkills trades.

MSDE, in close conjunction with Industry, will work towards preparing the winners on best practices before they head to the 45th WorldSkills Competition at Kazan, Russia in 2019. India won 1 Silver, 1 Bronze and 9 Medallions of Excellence and ranked 19^th among 56 countries at the last WorldSkills 2017 in Abu Dhabi.