Four skilled professionals to compete in MPEDA’s National Skill Olympiad on value-added seafood exports
Finals of Olympiad on July 1 during Seafood Expo Bharat in Chennai
Chennai / June 30, 2025
Chennai, June 30: Four trained seafood processing professionals will compete in the grand finale of National Skill Olympiad here tomorrow, a ground-breaking initiative of the MPEDA which aims to boost export of seafood products, upgrade skills in value addition, and build a skilled professional pool.
The finalists are Mr Thanseer K R (Abad Foods Malipuram, Kerala); Ms D. Anitha, of Visakhapatnam-based Sandhya Aqua Exports Pvt Ltd; Mr Balamurugan I, of Edhayam Frozen Foods Pvt Ltd, Tuticorin (Tamil Nadu), and Ms Sandya Rani Palaparthi (M/s Coastal Cooperation Ltd, Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh).
The finalists of the pioneering event, organised by the Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA), were selected from among the ten contestants in the semi-final round of the Olympiad, which was held here ahead of the July 1-3 Seafood Expo Bharat in the city.
The ten semi-finalists, who included four women, had to prepare eight much-in-demand value-added seafood products such as Nobashi shrimp, breaded butterfly shrimp, Peeled & Deveined Tail-On Skewer Shrimp, Cooked PDTO Shrimp, Marinated PD Tail-On Shrimps, Blanched Squid Ring, Breaded Squid Ring, and fish fillet within a time limit of two and a half hours.
The products were judged on the criteria of quality, hygiene, execution and presentation.
As a precursor to the event, MPEDA had conducted multiple rounds of skill tests for trained professionals across the East and West coasts of India to assess the practical skills acquired during training. The preliminary rounds of the Skill Olympiad were held in Kochi (West Coast Zone) on May 29 and in Visakhapatnam (East Coast Zone) on June 5.
Five winners each from the West Coast and East Coast were selected for the semi-final.
The winners of the final round will be awarded cash prizes and mementos, with Rs 1,00,000 for first place, Rs 75,000 for second, Rs 50,000 for third, and Rs 25,000 as a consolation prize for the fourth position.
MPEDA Chairman Shri D V Swamy said a major objective of the Olympiad is to boost India’s seafood value addition sector and make the country a global hub for value-added seafood exports. “Considering its importance and the enthusiastic response from the professionals, MPEDA plans to make it an annual event,” he added.
He said the Olympiad is in tune with the Centre’s Viksit Bharat 2047, and supports the goals of Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) by promoting industry-relevant skills, recognizing trained seafood workers, and enhancing employability in the seafood sector.
India aims to double the exports of value-added seafood products to 20 per cent of its total seafood exports by 2030.
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