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TAIVASEducation

Edition I · 2026 · West Zone

National Speech & Debate Championship

Every student trains. Every student competes. The top 50 in the country walk onto the IIT Bombay campus.

Grades 3 to 12 · any school, any board, any city in India · Solo debate, 1v1 · conventional and impromptu

Register · ₹2,999Download the brochure
A student speaking in an IIT Bombay lecture theatre at the Taivas bootcamp
IIT Bombay Debating Society

In collaboration with

IIT Bombay Debating Society

Adjudication · Grand Finale host · Powai campus

Open to
Grades 3–12
Format
Solo 1v1
Finalists
50
Grand Finale
25 Oct · IIT Bombay

Three stages · one national title

One entry. Three stages. Fifty finalists.

Nobody is thrown into a competitive round unprepared. Coaching comes first and competition comes second. That order is the whole point.

  1. 01Everyone

    Everyone attends

    Training

    3–4 October 2026 · Live, online

    Two days of expert-led coaching in speaking, argument construction, rebuttal and weighing. Not an orientation, real training every student carries into the qualifiers.

    Every registered student advances.

  2. 02Everyone

    Everyone competes

    Online qualifiers

    11 October 2026 · Online, judged

    Judged 1v1 solo rounds, scored by Taivas coaches and IIT Bombay Debating Society adjudicators on matter, manner and method. Every student receives a written score sheet.

    The top 50 in the country advance.

  3. 0350

    The top 50 only

    Grand Finale

    25 October 2026 · IIT Bombay, Powai campus

    Preliminary round, semi-finals and three grand finals, one per grade track, adjudicated by the IIT Bombay Debating Society, ending in the awards ceremony.

    National Champions are crowned.

Because the first two stages run online, a student in Coimbatore or Guwahati enters on exactly the same footing as a student in Delhi. Only the Grand Finale is on campus, and it is by qualification.

Grade tracks

Three tracks, by grade.

Motions are set at a level appropriate to each track, and every track ends in its own Grand Final.

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  1. Starters

    Grades 3–5

  2. Juniors

    Grades 6–8

  3. Seniors

    Grades 9–12

Students debate within their own track, against peers of the same or an adjacent grade. Grades 1–2 are not eligible this edition.

Every participant

What everyone takes home.

Whether or not a student reaches Powai, the entry fee buys real coaching and a real record of it.

Certificate of participation

Jointly issued with the IIT Bombay Debating Society.

Written adjudicator score sheet

Matter, manner and method, from a real judge.

Recording of their own speech

Every competition round, to keep and to learn from.

Scholarship voucher

Toward the Taivas flagship debating programme.

Why debate, why now

Three things a debater learns that a classroom rarely teaches.

  1. 01

    To hold a room.

    Standing up, being watched, and carrying on anyway. A child who learns it at nine carries it into every presentation, viva and interview for the rest of their life.

  2. 02

    To think while being challenged.

    Anyone can deliver a prepared point. Debate teaches a student to hear an objection they did not see coming, understand it, and answer it in the next thirty seconds.

  3. 03

    To be wrong well.

    The best debaters can argue a side they disagree with, the habit of understanding an opposing view properly before rejecting it. The rarest skill in any room.

Leadership · Communication · Confidence · Persuasion · Critical thinking · Composure

Stage 3 · 25 October 2026 · IIT Bombay, Powai

Fifty students. One campus. One national title.

  1. 8:00 AMRegistration and campus entry
  2. 9:00 AMPreliminary round, all 50 finalists debate
  3. 12:00 PMLunch on campus · preliminary results
  4. 1:00 PMSemi-finals, top 4 in each grade track
  5. 2:30 PMGrand Finals, top 2 in each grade track
  6. 3:30 PMAwards ceremony

Every finalist debates at least once on the Powai campus. National Champions debate three times.

For families

  • One accompanying adult per finalist. Campus entry by pass only.
  • Photo ID is required at the gate for both finalist and adult.
  • Finalists are announced after the qualifiers, giving families time to plan travel.
  • Travel and accommodation are arranged by the family.

The venue

IIT Bombay lecture theatre during a Taivas session
IIT Bombay lecture theatre during a Taivas session
IIT Bombay lecture theatre during a Taivas session
IIT Bombay lecture theatre during a Taivas session

IIT Bombay lecture theatres during Taivas bootcamps. Home of the NSDC Grand Finale. Two-day bootcamps in the Powai lecture theatres with the IIT Bombay Debating Society adjudicating the showcase.

Registration

₹2,999per participant
inclusive of all taxes
  • One registration covers training, the online qualifiers and, on qualification, the Grand Finale.
  • Registrations close 30 September 2026.
  • Every entrant receives a scholarship voucher toward the Taivas flagship programme.
Register now See all prices

Where Taivas debaters have gone

  • Stanford breaks
  • Oxford WSDC
  • Harvard Summer Debate
  • ISDS camp selections

Founded by Tatsam Lamba in 2019. Coaches who compete on national circuits every weekend.

Train first. Compete second. Fifty finish at IIT Bombay.

Registration is open to any student in Grades 3 to 12, from any school, any board, any city in India.

Register, ₹2,999All events