New Delhi [India], October 9 (ANI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacted with the representatives of Team India at the WorldSkills Competition, Shanghai 2026, at 7, Lok Kalyan Marg, on Friday.

During the interaction, the participants shared their experiences during the competition. They expressed pride in representing their country at the world stage. The participants discussed adapting to new tools, software, technical systems and work processes during the international competition. They also spoke about the work being done by the government towards skill development, which is helping youth.

Prime Minister congratulated the participants for representing India on the global stage. He urged them to become ambassadors of skill development. He said that practical skills are as important as academic degrees.

Highlighting the importance of specialised skills, the Prime Minister said that as technology evolves rapidly, young people must continuously acquire new skills, upgrade their existing capabilities and adapt to emerging technologies. He urged the participants to develop skills in line with the requirements of the international market and contribute to improving India's skill training ecosystem through their experiences and suggestions. He emphasised the need for coordinated efforts by youth, the Government and training institutions to establish India as a global hub of skilled human resources.

PM Modi underlined the objective behind establishing a separate Ministry for Skill Development and said that the importance of skill training institutions is no less than IITs and IIMs. He encouraged the participants to share their experiences and suggestions with the Government to help improve India's skill training system.

WorldSkills is the world's leading international skills competition, bringing together young professionals from participating countries and regions to demonstrate excellence across a wide range of vocational and technical skills.

WorldSkills Shanghai 2026, the 48th WorldSkills Competition, was held from September 22 to 27, 2026, at the National Exhibition and Convention Center in Shanghai. Team India secured 10th position at the 48th WorldSkills Competition, Shanghai 2026, winning 6 Silver Medals and 20 Medals for Excellence. India was represented by its largest-ever contingent of 70 competitors participating across 63 skills.

The interaction was also attended by Jayant Chaudhary, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship and the Minister of State for Education and senior officials of the Government of India. (ANI)