Chhavi Rajawat, 32, a sarpanch and management graduate who brought information technology-enabled services to her village, Soda, in Rajasthan’s Tonk district, has found a place on this year’s list of Young Global Leaders (YGLs), announced by the World Economic Forum in Geneva on Tuesday.
Rajawat and 10 Indians figured on the list of 192 YGLs selected from around the world for their professional accomplishments. These included consultancy firm McKinsey’s director, Alok Kshirsagar, and Harvard University professor Sendhil Mullainathan.
Others were Subhashini Chandran, CEO and MD, Woodbriar Group Tea Estates India Ltd; Vandana Goyal, CEO of Akanksha Foundation; Binoy Job, spokesperson and director at Office of the Prime Minister; Adarsh Kumar, CEO of Livelihoods Equity Connect; Ashwin Naik, founder of Vaatsalya; Sanjiv Rai, founder and chairperson of ARE Technologies; Rajamanohar Somasundaram, founder and MD of Hexolabs; V R Ferose, MD of SAP Labs India.
“Within the World Economic Forum community,” said Klaus Schwab, founder and executive chairman of WEF, “the Young Global Leaders represent the voice of the future and the hopes of the next generation. I am particularly proud of this year's honourees, who I believe will address the challenges we face in a meaningful way through fresh thinking and true multi-stakeholder engagement.”
Drawn from a pool of several thousand candidates, the 2012 YGLs were selected by a committee chaired by Queen Rania of Jordan and members representing international leaders from business, government and media.
The leaders are selected on the basis of their commitment to society and potential to contribute to shaping the future of the world, said a WEF statement. For 2012, the forum has selected 192 YGLs from 59 countries.
“I am delighted to be part of this multi-faceted, diverse family of young leaders that are the YGL community. The opportunity it presents for learning through fellowship and effecting action is a rare privilege and responsibility. I look forward to contributing to this exceptional forum and growing with it”, said Subhashini Chandran, group chief executive officer and managing director, Woodbriar Group and Tea Estates India.
The 2012 honourees will become part of the broader Forum of Young Global Leaders community that currently comprises 713 individuals. There are 35 Indians that figure in this list of “active” young global leaders.