17 Indians in WEF's Global Young Leaders list

Vikram K Akula, Suhas Gopinath, Jeh Wadia and Sachin Pilot are among the 17 Indians who have been recognised as Young Global Leaders by the Word Economic Forum (WEF) for the year 2008.

"I am very confident that, through this platform, every YGL will be highly instrumental in empowering the youth and will be successful in bringing in significant changes," said Gopinath.

This honour is bestowed by the World Economic Forum annually to recognise and acknowledge the top 200-300 young leaders from around the world for their professional accomplishments, commitment to society and potential to contribute to shaping the future of the world.

This year's leaders include 121 business leaders, as well as leaders from the government, academia, the media and society at large from 65 countries.

The new class represents all regions, including East Asia (64), Europe (58), West Asia and North Africa (12), North America (45), South Asia (24), sub-Saharan Africa (21) and Latin America (21).

Drawn from a pool of almost 5,000 candidates, these leaders were chosen by a selection committee of 31 eminent international media leaders.

"The World Economic Forum is a true multi-stakeholder community of global decision-makers. We need the Young Global Leaders to be a voice for the future in the global thought process and as a catalyst for initiatives in the global public interest," said Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum.

The current community of Young Global Leaders represents over 60 countries and includes Larry Page and Sergey Brin, co-founders of Google, USA; Crown Prince Haakon of Norway; Malvinder M Singh, CEO and MD, Ranbaxy Laboratories, India, and Hiroshi Nakada, Mayor of Yokohama, Japan.