India has climbed to 10th position at the 48th WorldSkills Competition held in Shanghai, China, winning 6 silver medals and 20 medals for excellence. The result represents a significant jump from the country’s 13th-place finish at WorldSkills Lyon 2024. The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship coordinated India’s participation, which featured the largest-ever Indian contingent sent to the competition.
Key facts
- India ranked 10th among 70 countries and regions at WorldSkills Shanghai 2026
- 6 silver medals won; 20 medals for excellence awarded
- 70 Indian competitors participated across 63 skill categories
- Competition held 22-27 September 2026 in Shanghai
- Over 1,400 competitors from around 70 countries participated
- India debuted in 11 new skill categories this year
- Smriti Nambiar (Bakery) named Best of Nation
- Previous best: 13th place at Lyon 2024 with 4 bronze medals and 12 medals for excellence
Silver medal winners
The six silver medals were won by competitors across diverse sectors. Smriti Nambiar won in Bakery and was recognised as Best of Nation. Mohammed Salam won in Dental Prosthetics; Kovid Ajay Gangrade in Digital Interactive Media Design; Parth Vohra in Industrial Design Technology; Mehrunissa Begum in Logistics and Freight Forwarding; and Saniya Joshi in Retail Sales. These awards span creative, technical and service-sector skills.
India’s expanding skill ecosystem
A major highlight of this year’s competition was India’s entry into 11 new and emerging skill categories. These included Dental Prosthetics, Digital Interactive Media Design, Intelligent Security Technology, Landscape Gardening, Optoelectronic Technology, Retail Sales, Unmanned Aerial Systems, Industrial Mechanics, Software Testing, Heavy Vehicle Technology and Aircraft Maintenance. This expansion reflects India’s shift towards future-oriented occupations and new technologies aligned with industry demand.
Competitors also won medals for excellence across technical, industrial, digital, creative and service skills. The 20 medallists included performers in fields such as Mechatronics, Mobile Applications Development, Autonomous Mobile Robotics, Industry 4.0, Robot Systems Integration, Chemical Laboratory Technology and Additive Manufacturing.
Women’s participation and diversity
A significant feature of India’s team was strong participation by young women across diverse technical, creative and service-oriented categories. Female competitors represented India in skills ranging from Chemical Laboratory Technology and Logistics and Freight Forwarding to Fashion Technology, Visual Merchandising, Health and Social Care and Hospitality. This reflects widening opportunities for women in vocational education and skill development in India.
What the competition means
WorldSkills is the world’s leading international skills competition, held every two years. It brings together young professionals to demonstrate excellence across vocational and technical skills, promotes international standards, facilitates knowledge exchange and encourages young people to pursue skilled careers. Competitors are benchmarked against globally established standards set by the WorldSkills movement.
India’s participation was coordinated by the National Skill Development Corporation under the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, with support from Sector Skill Councils, industry partners, training institutions and technical experts.
Government response and next steps
Jayant Chaudhary, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, congratulated Team India on its performance, saying the results mark a significant leap in India’s global skills journey. He highlighted that beyond medals, the achievement demonstrates the confidence and excellence with which India’s youth represented the country on the world stage.
Manisha Sensarma, Official Delegate for WorldSkills India and Senior Economic Adviser at the Ministry, stated that the focus now is to translate learnings from Shanghai into stronger training methodologies, improved assessment standards and deeper industry engagement. The goal is to extend benefits of the international exposure to India’s broader skilling ecosystem, not just within the competition itself.
What this means for you
If you are a student considering vocational or technical education, India’s improved performance signals growing global recognition of the country’s skill training standards. The expansion into emerging categories like digital media design, unmanned aerial systems and intelligent security technology suggests that new career pathways are opening in futuristic sectors. Young people pursuing skills in these areas now have models of international excellence to aspire towards.
For those in the competitive exam space, India’s climb from 13th to 10th place over two years demonstrates the increasing investment in quality skill development. This reflects broader policy commitment to building a skilled workforce that can compete globally.