New Delhi, Oct 9: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday met members of India’s contingent that delivered an impressive performance at the WorldSkills Competition Shanghai 2026, congratulating the young participants for showcasing their talent and skills on the global stage.

The interaction took place at the Prime Minister’s residence at 7, Lok Kalyan Marg, where PM Modi lauded the competitors for their achievements and encouraged them to continue excelling in their respective fields.

Sharing details of the meeting on social media, the Prime Minister praised the participants for their outstanding performance at the international skills competition and said it was a pleasure to interact with and motivate the young achievers.

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

India recorded its best-ever performance at the 48th WorldSkills Competition, held from September 22 to 27 at the National Exhibition and Convention Center (NECC) in Shanghai. The country secured six silver medals and 20 Medallions for Excellence, finishing 10th in the overall rankings.

The latest result marks a significant improvement from the previous edition of the competition held in France’s Lyon in 2024, where India finished 13th with four bronze medals and 12 Medallions for Excellence.

The improved ranking reflects the growing capabilities of India’s skilled workforce and its rising presence in global skills competitions.

According to the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, the six-day event brought together more than 1,400 young competitors from nearly 70 countries and regions.

India fielded its largest-ever contingent, comprising 70 competitors, who participated in 63 skill categories spanning emerging technologies, advanced manufacturing, engineering, creative industries and specialised services.

After four days of intense competition, winners were honoured during the closing ceremony held in Shanghai on September 27. The event celebrated excellence in technical expertise, innovation, precision and craftsmanship, drawing participants, industry leaders, experts and international delegations from across the world.

India’s participation in WorldSkills Shanghai 2026 was coordinated by the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) under the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, with support from Sector Skill Councils, industry partners, training institutions and technical experts.

Kolkata, Oct 9: Hasirani Rath, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate for the bypoll for Nandigram Assembly Constituency in East Midnapore district of West Bengal, was declared elected by a record margin of 1,22,753 votes.

While Rath secured 1,64,427 votes, Congress’s Milan Pradhan came in the second position, securing 41,674 votes.

CPI’s Santi Gopal Giri was in the third position, receiving 5,779 votes, followed by All India Secular Front’s (AISF) Ali Md Sabe Miraj Khan in the fourth position, securing 1,607 votes.

Ritabrata Banerjee-led Democratic Trinamool Congress finished in the fifth position, securing just 853 votes.

Former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee-led Mamata All India Trinamool Congress was not in the electoral race at Nandigram this time, as its candidate Sanchita Pradhan Dey withdrew her nomination at the last moment, following which Mamata Banerjee announced her support towards the Congress candidate.

This is the highest ever victory margin by any winning candidate from Nandigram since 1967. The previous record was held by current Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari in 2016, when he got elected from Nandigram as a Trinamool Congress candidate by a margin of 81,230 votes.

“Before the bypolls, I predicted that the victory margin for the BJP candidate this time would surpass my own record in 2016. This is what exactly happened. This would not have been possible unless our candidate had secured the majority of the minority votes in Nandigram,” said CM Adhikari while giving his reactions on the Nandigram assembly polls

In the assembly elections earlier this year, CM Adhikari was elected from Nandigram by a margin of just 9,665 or 50.37 per cent of the total votes polled then. So statistically, in the bypolls this time, BJP witnessed 25.79 per cent positive vote swing, with Rath securing 75.94 per cent of the total votes polled.

Earlier this year, CM Adhikari was elected simultaneously from Bhabanipur Assembly Constituency in South Kolkata, defeating Mamata Banerjee by a margin of little over 15,000 votes. Later he decided to retain Bhabanipur, thus necessitating bypolls at Nandigram.

Hasirani Rath is the mother of Chandranath Rath, the former personal assistant of Suvendu Adhikari, who was assassinated at Madhyamgram in North 24 Parganas district on May 6.

The final result of bypolls for Rejinagar Assembly Constituency in Murshidabad district of West Bengal is yet to be announced.

New Delhi, Oct 9: Deputy Commissioner of Police, Railways, B. Bharat Reddy, on Friday said that they have deployed 334 Government Railway Police (GRP) personnel and sought 14 companies of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) to strengthen security arrangements ahead of the CJP protest scheduled for October 10 at Jantar Mantar.

Speaking to media, Reddy said special security arrangements had been made at major railway stations to manage the movement of protesters arriving in Delhi by train to participate in the demonstration.

“CJP has called for a protest at Jantar Mantar on October 10. For protesters coming to Delhi by train to participate in the demonstration, we have deployed 334 GRP personnel and sought 14 companies of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF). The deployment will be round-the-clock. Delhi has seven major railway stations that receive the highest number of trains and witness the highest footfall,” he said.

He added that security personnel would remain deployed round-the-clock at these stations.

Addressing concerns over travel disruptions, Reddy said passengers whose trains had not been diverted and were scheduled to arrive at their designated stations would face no inconvenience.

“They can follow their travel plans, arrive on time, and board their trains. The railway advisory also asks passengers to keep checking their train status online and plan their travel accordingly,” he said.

Indian Railways has cancelled 38 of the 165 trains scheduled to operate to New Delhi and Hazrat Nizamuddin stations ahead of the protest on October 10, in view of anticipated severe road traffic congestion around the stations amid the proposed CJP protests.

Trains, scheduled to arrive at New Delhi and Hazrat Nizamuddin railway stations between 4 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Saturday, will be affected by the cancellations.

In a statement, the Ministry of Railways said the decision was taken as a precautionary measure to minimise inconvenience to passengers amid the anticipated traffic congestion.

“To ensure that passengers do not face similar hardship, Railways has taken a proactive, precautionary step: All Mail/Express trains starting from source after 14:00 hrs on 9th Oct which were scheduled to arrive New Delhi / Hazrat Nizamuddin between 04:00-14:00 hrs on 10th Oct are cancelled at source,” the ministry said.

Meanwhile, the Delhi Police have warned against unauthorised gatherings ahead of the proposed CJP protest on October 10, saying Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) is in force in the New Delhi area. Police said violations of the restrictions would invite legal action.