The winners are out – birth of a new generation of Indian Leaders!

New Delhi, October 29, 2010: Young dynamic trailblazers, who set new paths, ventured into unexplored territories and finally emerged as path-breaking success stories of our nation. They are the ‘Young Indian Leaders’ who were felicitated at an event held in the National Capital. Chief Guest, Nandan Nilekani, Chairman, UIDAI, graced the occasion and honoured various progressive leaders who are the definitive pillars of our multi-talented nation. A panel discussion with Actor Gul Panag, Member of Parliament & Steel icon Naveen Jindal, Olympic champion Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore and RTI activist Arvind Kejriwal, marked the beginning of the enlightening event.

‘Young Indian Leaders’, a Network18 initiative presented by IRB Infrastructure Developers Ltd. felicitated 8 such revolutionary Indian leaders who symbolize optimism of the country which has the largest youth population in the world.

Meet these leaders and be a part of their inspiring stories which will be telecast daily from October 25 – October 29 at 6:30 pm on CNN-IBN and 7:30 pm on IBN7. The grand finale of the award ceremony will be telecast on October 30 at 8:00 pm on CNN-IBN and IBN7 and on IBN-Lokmat at 6:00PM.

The youth icons felicitated at the event in alphabetical order are:
• Aga Ruhullah: The politician with a mission. At 34 he is the youngest face in Omar Abdullah's cabinet and 2 times MLA from the Central Kashmir district of Budgam
• Akhil Gogoi: With an aim of creating awareness and protesting against environmental damage and large scale corruption in the construction of dams, Akhil Gogoi, the 34 year old from Assam, runs Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti
• Chhavi Rajawat: In a generation that chases the corporate dream and six figure salary as a career objective, Chhavi Rajawat is a trend breaker. The 30 year old LSR graduate and MBA decided to leave the urban lure and corporate perks to go back to her village and serve the people as it's Sarpanch
• D Udaya Kumar: He is the man who gave the rupee its symbol. The design sent by the 32 years old PhD in Tamil typography was the chosen one amongst several designs
• Indrani Medhi: Her research helps take the computer to a section of the society which cannot read or write. The Guwahati-born, Bangalore-based tech researcher Indrani Medhi developed text-free user interfaces (UIs) that are design guidelines allowing an illiterate person, on first contact with a computer, to immediately realize useful interaction with minimal or no assistance
• Irfan Alam: Popularly known as the 'rickshaw man from Bihar,' the 29-year-old Irfan Alam is an alumnus of the prestigious IIM-Ahmedabad. He founded the Sammaan Foundation and came up with the idea of equipping rickshaws with music, magazines, newspapers, first-aid kits, refreshments and advertisements to help rickshaw-pullers
• Krushnaa Patil: The 20 year old girl who conquered Mt. Everest. Now she is on a 7-Summit Quest, attempting to climb the tallest peak in every continent around the world
• Sudarsan Pattnaik: Orissa born noted sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik is India’s world champion when it comes to making sculptures from sand. The 33 years old Sudarsan utilized the sand available at the local beach to give shape to his artistic skills
The first of its kind editorial initiative of CNN-IBN, IBN7 and IBN-Lokmat, is about celebrating the achievements of Young Indians who personify the spirit of youth. It is an effort to identify, honour, and showcase the young achievers, from various fields of expertise, who in turn can be a source of inspiration to the nation’s youth.

YOUNG INDIAN LEADERS - A Network18 initiative adheres to a unique inclusive process of selection. The general public nominated their favourite Young Indian Leaders from various walks of life. The Network18 Editorial Board drawn from the editorial masterminds of CNN-IBN, IBN7, IBN-Lokmat, then went though the nominations, shortlisted them, and then arrived at the Winners after many levels of scrutiny, verification and deliberation. The awards are a salute to the nation's future leaders. Web users can conveniently access all the details about the Young Indian Leaders Award including details on the nominees at the website http://www.youngindianleaders.com.
Speaking about the initiative, Rajdeep Sardesai, Editor-in-Chief, CNN-IBN, IBN7 & IBN Lokmat, said, “We salute these young leaders and hope that their inspiring stories bring a positive change that compel the youth of the nation to broaden their horizons and think differently.”

Speaking on the occasion, Ashutosh, Managing Editor, IBN7, said, “This initiative is our endeavour to acknowledge the exemplary work done by these young individuals through unconventional routes thereby earning shining success in their respective fields.”

About Network 18
Network18 [BSE: 532798,NSE: Network18] is one of India's leading full play media conglomerates with interests in television, print, internet, filmed entertainment, mobile content and allied businesses. Through its holding in Television Eighteen India Ltd (TV18) [BSE: 532299, NSE: TV-18], Network18 operates India’s leading business news television channels, CNBC-TV18 and CNBC Awaaz. It also runs one of India’s largest Internet players - Web18, as well as one of India’s leading real time financial information and news terminals - Newswire18. TV18 has recently expanded into print with Infomedia18, a newly formed entity following the acquisition of Infomedia, India's leading player in the special interest publishing and printing operations space.TV18 has also announced collaboration with Forbes media for the launch of a business magazine in India. Through its holding in ibn18 Broadcast Ltd (ibn18) [BSE: 532800,NSE: ibn18], Network18 operates in the general news and entertainment space with leading general news channels CNN-IBN and IBN7 and has launched IBN Lokmat, a Marathi news channel in partnership with the Lokmat group. ibn18 also operates a joint venture with Viacom, called Viacom18 which houses the MTV, VH1 and Nickelodeon channels in India - as also Studio18, the Group’s filmed entertainment operation and has launched ‘Colors’, a Hindi general entertainment channel. Additionally, Network18 holds the Group’s online & on-air home shopping venture, Homeshop18 and its full spectrum events management venture, E18.

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This release was published on openPR.