Aishwarya Rai, Jignesh Shah among WEF's Young Global Leaders

Bollywood actress Aishwarya Rai, Godrej executive director Tanya Dubash, Park Hotels president Priya Paul, and Member of Parliament Naveen Jindal are among a list of 25 Indians who have been named Young Global Leaders 2007 by the World Economic Forum.

The WEF on Tuesday released the names of the 250 young leaders who have been selected Young Global Leaders 2007. This honour is bestowed each year by the World Economic Forum to recognise and acknowledge the top 250 young leaders from around the world for their professional accomplishments, their commitment to society and their potential to contribute to shaping the future of the world.

As many as fourteen business leaders from India have been named for the award. They include:

• Neeraj Bharadwaj, partner, Apax Partners;
• Ajay Bijli, managing director, PVR Cinemas / Bijli Group of Companies;
• Amit Burman, executive director, Dabur India Ltd;
• Amit Chandra, managing director and head, global markets and investment banking, DSP Merrill Lynch;
• Subhash Dhar, vice-president and business unit head, communications service providers, Infosys Technologies;
• Tanya Dubash, executive director, Godrej Industries;
• Vishaka Mulye, chief financial officer, ICICI Bank Ltd;
• Mangat Jagi Panda, co-founder & director, Ortel Communications;
• Priya Paul, president, The Park Hotels;
• Govind Mukund Rajan, vice president, Tata Sons;
• Sanjay G. V. Reddy, executive director, GVK Industries;
• Satish Reddy, managing director and chief operating officer, Dr Reddy's Laboratories;
• Jignesh Shah, chairman, managing director & CEO, Financial Technologies of India Ltd & MCX; and
• Ruchir Sharma, managing director and co-head, emerging markets group, Morgan Stanley Investment Management.

Others who have been named global leaders from the 'politics' category include:

• Jyotiraditya Scindia, Member of Parliament;
• Omar Abdullah, Member of Parliament;
• Bhavana Pundlikrao Gawali, Member of Parliament;
• Naveen Jindal, Member of Parliament; and
• Shivraj Singh, prince of Jodhpur.

Also featuring in the list from the 'arts and culture' category is:

• Karan Johar, head, Dharma Productions.

In the 'social' category, those who have been awarded are:

• Arvind Kejriwal, founder, Parivartan; and
• Ramesh Ramanathan, founder, Janaagraha.

From the 'opinion category', the two Indians who feature in the list are:

• Vikram Chandra, managing editor, NDTV; and
• Raju Narisetti, chief managing editor, HT Media Ltd.

Drawn from a pool of over 4,000 candidates, the Young Global Leaders nominated in 2007 have been chosen by a selection committee of 34 eminent international media leaders, including Marjorie Scardino, chief executive, Pearson, United Kingdom; Arthur Sulzberger, chairman and publisher, The New York Times, USA; Tom Glocer, chief executive officer, Reuters, United Kingdom; and Hisashi Hieda, chairman and chief executive officer, Fuji Television Network, Japan.

The committee is chaired by Her Majesty Queen Rania of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.

The Young Global Leaders 2007 include 125 business leaders, as well as leaders from governments, academia, media and society at large from nearly 70 countries. The new class represents all regions, including nominees from East Asia (50), Europe (50), Middle East and North Africa (25), North America (50), South Asia (30), sub-Saharan Africa (20) and Latin America (25).

The current community of 416 Young Global Leaders represents 90 countries and includes Larry Page and Sergey Brin, co-founders of Google; Mikheil Saakashvili, President of Georgia; Kumi Naidoo, secretary-general and chief executive officer, Civicus: World Alliance for Citizen Participation; Daniela Mercury, Singer, Brazil; and Michelle Guthrie, chief executive officer, Star Group.

"Confronting and tackling global challenges will require fresh, strategic thinking from global leaders, as well as innovative and truly international solutions based on global collaboration. This is why I created The Forum of Young Global Leaders -- to be a voice for the future in global thought processes," said Klaus Schwab, executive chairman of the World Economic Forum in a media release.

India and the World Economic Forum: Coverage