14 Women in India's 70-Member Team at WorldSkills Shanghai 2026
Fourteen young women are part of India's 70-member contingent competing across 63 skills at the 48th WorldSkills Competition in Shanghai from 22 to 27 September 2026.

Why in News
The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship highlighted on 25 September 2026 that 14 young women are representing India at the 48th WorldSkills Competition in Shanghai, within a 70-member contingent competing across 63 skills.
Fourteen young women are representing Team India at WorldSkills Shanghai 2026, making up more than a fifth of the country's competitor contingent at the global skills championship.
The competition
The event is the 48th WorldSkills Competition and is being held in Shanghai from 22 to 27 September 2026. India has sent a 70-member squad of competitors, who are in the fray across 63 skills. WorldSkills is where young vocational professionals measure themselves against international benchmarks, and for many competitors it is the first time their training is judged by a global standard rather than a domestic one.
Where the women are competing
The women in the squad are spread across technical, specialised, creative and service-linked trades. Their skills include Chemical Laboratory Technology, Logistics and Freight Forwarding, Visual Merchandising, Fashion Technology, Retail Sales and Health and Social Care. Others are competing in Hotel Reception, Restaurant Service, Cooking, Painting and Decorating, Hairdressing, Beauty Therapy, Bakery, and Patisserie and Confectionery. The spread matters because several of these trades sit well outside the paths young women were traditionally pushed towards, and because a medal in any one of them travels back into a training institute at home as proof that the course can hold its own abroad.
Who they are
The competitors are Sampada Desai, Mehrunissa Begum, Anuja Ajay Vare, Vidhi Niravkumar Suthar, Saniya Joshi, Vishnupriya Sunil, Rashmeet Kaur Hanspal, Jhansirani Rout, Thanushree Magesh, Muskan, Jui Santosh Sapke, T. Sabir Sutar, Smriti Nambiar and Krishnanjali Sahoo.
What the ministry says
Manisha Sensarma, Official Delegate of WorldSkills India and Senior Economic Adviser in the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, called the participation a sign of an encouraging shift in Indian skilling and said the point it drives home is that skills have no gender. The ministry says it continues to push for greater participation by women in vocational education, apprenticeships and industry-linked training, and for wider occupational choice.
Important Facts
| Event | 48th WorldSkills Competition, WorldSkills Shanghai 2026 |
|---|---|
| Host city | Shanghai, China |
| Dates | 22 to 27 September 2026 |
| India's contingent | 70 competitors |
| Skills contested | 63 |
| Women competitors from India | 14, more than a fifth of the contingent |
| Ministry | Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship |
| Official Delegate, WorldSkills India | Manisha Sensarma, Senior Economic Adviser |
Exam Point of View
Remember the edition (48th WorldSkills Competition), the host city (Shanghai), the dates (22 to 27 September 2026), the size of India's contingent (70 competitors), the number of skills (63), the number of women (14) and the ministry concerned.
Practice Questions
WorldSkills Shanghai 2026 is which edition of the WorldSkills Competition?
- A.46th
- B.47th
- C.48th
- D.49th
Show answer
Correct answer: C. 48th
Explanation
The correct answer is the 48th. WorldSkills Shanghai 2026 is the 48th edition of the WorldSkills Competition and is being held in Shanghai from 22 to 27 September 2026. India has entered a contingent of 70 competitors who are taking part across 63 skills, and 14 of those competitors are young women, which works out to more than a fifth of the squad. Options A and B are wrong because they name earlier editions of the championship, while option D is wrong because it runs ahead of the current one. Edition numbers, host cities and dates are the three details an examiner is most likely to combine in a single question about an international competition, so it is worth fixing all three together rather than remembering only the year.
How many competitors are there in India's contingent at WorldSkills Shanghai 2026?
- A.14
- B.63
- C.70
- D.84
Show answer
Correct answer: C. 70
Explanation
The correct answer is 70. India's competitor contingent at WorldSkills Shanghai 2026 has 70 members. Option A is wrong, though the number is genuine in another sense: 14 is the count of young women in that contingent, which is more than a fifth of the whole squad. Option B is wrong for a similar reason, because 63 is the number of skills in which India is competing rather than the number of people competing. Option D matches nothing in the announcement at all. This question is a good example of why a candidate should tag every number with the thing it counts: competitors 70, skills 63, women 14, edition 48. Confusing any two of them is the commonest way to lose a mark on an item like this.
Who is the Official Delegate of WorldSkills India quoted on the participation of women at WorldSkills Shanghai 2026?
- A.Manisha Sensarma
- B.Sampada Desai
- C.Smriti Nambiar
- D.Krishnanjali Sahoo
Show answer
Correct answer: A. Manisha Sensarma
Explanation
The correct answer is Manisha Sensarma, who is the Official Delegate of WorldSkills India and also Senior Economic Adviser in the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship. She described the participation of these young women as an encouraging shift in India's skilling landscape and made the point that skills have no gender. Options B, C and D name competitors rather than officials: Sampada Desai is competing in Chemical Laboratory Technology, Smriti Nambiar in Bakery, and Krishnanjali Sahoo in Patisserie and Confectionery. Distractors of this kind work well in an examination because all four names appear in the same announcement, so a candidate who has skimmed it will remember the names without remembering which of them holds the official post.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many women are representing India at WorldSkills Shanghai 2026?
Fourteen. They form more than a fifth of India's 70-member competitor contingent at the 48th WorldSkills Competition being held in Shanghai.
When and where is the 48th WorldSkills Competition being held?
In Shanghai from 22 to 27 September 2026. India is competing across 63 skills with a contingent of 70 competitors.
Which ministry sends India's team to WorldSkills?
The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship. Its Senior Economic Adviser, Manisha Sensarma, is the Official Delegate of WorldSkills India.
Sources
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