Wow! Thanks @Coreyartus for such a wonderful and organized post! 
THANK YOU to everyone for your wishes! This was really unexpected for me so I was equally shocked at the results!
But most of all, I want to thank @Will-Terry @Jake-Parker @Lee-White for SVSLearn! The day I discovered SVS was pretty much when my career as a children's book illustrator started an upward incline. You are all amazing teachers and the passion and knowledge you, and the other instructors share through SVS is exceptional. I'll be forever grateful to everyone who makes SVS possible! 
*** ALERT: LONG POST AHEAD ***
A lot of people have doubts about if it's worth becoming an SCBWI member. I just wanted to share my experience with it.
Firstly, I would like to mention that members from India get almost a 50% discount on their membership/renewal fee in lieu of being from a UN Developing Nation.
My registration fee for the SCBWI Summer Spectacular event also had a 50% discount. For any additional registrations (like the portfolio showcase), I paid the full price.
So I've been an SCBWI member for almost a year now and honestly, I haven't reaped many benefits of it because the India chapter is not that active.
As for online resources, they send a monthly and quarterly magazine with articles etc. to all the members, but I've never read one to date 
I'd been submitting my work for their monthly "Draw This!" and their Feature contest but I observed the artists who usually got selected had a very distinct style (it's hard to explain) but I felt that my style didn't fit in. Anyway, it's not AS discouraging when you don't know who you're up against, so I just kept on drawing hoping to create a portfolio worthy piece (just like with the SVS challenges). In fact, one of the month's Draw This! topic was "Masks" for which I created a piece that made it to my portfolio for the showcase! (The girl putting on a face mask in front of the mirror - just did a different take on "Masks")
My main takeaway from the SCBWI membership came earlier this year when I had my portfolio ready to share with publishers and agents.
-
Their "The Book" publication is a good source for the latest market surveys with names and contacts of all the important ppl in the publishing industry.
-
Secondly, their online digital workshops that were made freely available to all members during the lockdown. A couple of them were really informative. Though I'm not sure yet if they will continue this trend post-pandemic.
-
You don't need to be a member to attend any SCBWI events, but you do get a discount on the registration fee if you are one. For me, it was this event, but if you're in a region that is active with local events, it should be applicable to those too.
SCBWI is great for networking and getting your work in front of the right people. I personally feel (being from a not-so-active-region) it's more advantageous when you think you're ready to showcase your work (unless you're someone who loves to consume a lot of information that only members will have access to). There are indeed a lot of publishers, art directors, agents who will see your work. You basically have to weigh out your risk-reward ratio.
I will be sharing another long post about how I went about creating my portfolio and any helpful links that I found.
Again, THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH! This forum has instilled a lot of confidence in me and has helped me grow as an artist.
And you totally deserve it!!!
🥰
