The 48-member Indian contingent for the ‘WorldSkills International Competition 2019’ was announced by the Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (MSDE) on Wednesday.

The event scheduled in Kazan in Russia from August 22 to August 27, is also referred to as the ‘Olympics For Skills’ and it is the biggest showcase of skills excellence in the world.

Over 1500 participants from around 60 countries will take part in the event and show their talents in 55 skill competitions and India will take part in 44 of these events.

Some of the events in which India will take part include mobile robotics, prototype modelling, hairdressing, baking, confectionary & patisserie, welding, bricklaying, car painting and floristry.

In the 2017 edition of the competitions held in Abu Dhabi, India won one silver medal, one bronze medal and nine medallions of excellence apart from finishing 19^th out of 56 countries.

This was India’s best performance since the inception of the competition.

“Through WorldSkills Competition we aim to provide opportunities to the youth in our country to compete with, and learn from, their peers across the globe,” said Dr Mahendra Nath Pandey, Minister for Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, after announcing the Indian contingent.

“Such initiatives also help us benchmark our skills to the international standards and will improve the overall quality of vocational training in India,” he said.

“I congratulate each one of them for their journey so far and wish them the very best for all their future endeavours,” the minister concluded.

Selection for WorldSkills Competition 2019 began on January 2018 after a scheme on IndianSkills Competition was rolled out.

Hosted by 22 states in 500 districts across the country, the state and district level competitions were held from March 2018 to April 2018.

Winners of various district and state competition then competed at regional levels and winners from the regional levels competed at the national level competitions.

The various winners at the national competitions were selected for the world competitions and they have been undergoing training since then.

The Indian contingent is represented by players from across the country.

The Indian contingent this year is the sixth largest and it hopes to better its records and win more medals than the 2017 edition.

Held every two years, WorldSkills competition was first conceptualised in the mid-1940s.