The coveted 30 Under 30 List by Forbes India magazine is finally out! For the 11th time in a row, this list shines a spotlight on 30 “trailblazers and disruptors” – under the age of 30 – across various industries. Making it to Forbes 30 Under 30 is definitely a milestone achievement in one’s career. And this year, 38 achievers across 19 categories were picked by an expert jury for each category.
From Art to B2B to Clean Energy & Climate Change to Fashion sectors, the individuals on this List are poised to make a lasting impact on the dynamic Indian market. As per the magazine, the List “has once again found an impressive collection of entrepreneurs, professionals, designers, influencers, and sportspersons who have overcome odds to follow their passion and epitomise their success. These young achievers are all outliers in their fields and people to watch for the next decade.”
In total, the list includes 9 women. The biggest amount raised by a listee this year stands at $235.4 million. The youngest candidate on it is 21 years old. The Forbes 30 Under 30 includes a Unicorn as well as 13 professionals. “[It] honours individuals with a bold and innovative spirit, fearlessly embracing uniqueness and challenging established norms,” said Brian Carvalho, editor, Forbes India.
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The Selection Process
The magazine followed a 3-fold process to shortlist the candidates.
- Selection basis interviews by the Forbes India team with sources across relevant categories as well as through studies of databases and media coverage.
- Inviting applications from, or nominations of, entrepreneurs and professionals who fit the criteria on their website – forbesindia.com
- Spreading the word on social media. This helped Forbes India arrive at a long list across 20 categories, including a new one this year – B2B.
The next step was narrowing down the long list to a shorter one. These would be the names most likely to make it to the Top 30, decided in consultation with experts in each category.
The last stage was finalising the 30 winners for 2024. Armed with expert views, the Forbes India editorial team debated, argued, and vetoed its way down to the final 30 from close to a thousand nominations.
The magazine also clarified “We have only considered for selection those who were under the age of 30 as of February 29, 2024 (the cut-off date for selection of the list). And, in the case of enterprises that have several co-founders, we have considered only those where at least one of them is under 30.”
In this article, we take you through some of the noteworthy names that made it to the Forbes 30 Under 30 List:
Digital Content Creators
Anushka Rathod, 25
Armed with a postgraduation in taxation, cleared CFA level 1 exam, and a few years of experience in investment banking and wealth management, Anushka Rathod began her content creation journey by simplifying complex industry strategies. She has amassed 1.8 million followers on her social media handles and YouTube. Her newsletter, ‘Crore Club’, boasts more than 10,000 subscribers. All of the above contributed to her feature on this List by Forbes.
Dipraj Jadhav, 28
Widely popular for blending visuals and background scores in perfect sync, Dipraj Jadhav has a million followers on Instagram, 464,000 on Facebook, and 309,000 subscribers on YouTube. His shot to fame was when Nucleya noticed the mashup he made of Divine and Nucleya’s song Scene Kya Hai synced with a video of a fight between Ram and Ravan from Ramayan. Nucleya approached Dipraj to create more mashups that were used for his concerts. He has also worked as an assistant editor for movies and web series like Batla House, Marjaavan, and Rocket Boys.
Entertainment
Rashmika Mandanna, 27
Having held the position of “the national crush”, who doesn’t love Rashmika? The Telugu, Tamil and Hindi film actor had three releases last year. Firstly, she starred alongside Tamil superstar Vijay in Vamshi Paidipally’s action film Varisu. The film made around ₹300 crore at the worldwide box office. Second, she starred opposite Sidharth Malhotra in Shantanu Bagchi’s spy thriller Mission Majnu, which released on Netflix India.
And thirdly, she was the leading lady in Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s controversial family crime drama Animal, opposite Ranbir Kapoor. Released in cinemas in Hindi and Telugu among other languages, the film earned over ₹900 crore at the global box office. Rashmika Mandanna will be next seen in Pushpa 2: The Rule, Rainbow, The Girlfriend, and Chaava this year. Alongside her film career, the actress is also working on a business plan and is likely to soon turn entrepreneur.
Radhika Madan, 28
She kicked off the year with a supporting role in Aasman Bhardwaj’s directorial debut, crime drama Kuttey. Next, Radhika Madan headlined Shubham Yogi’s lighthearted sports drama Kacchey Limbu, which released on JioCinema. And finally, she capped off the year with Mikhil Musale’s mystery film Sajini Shinde Ka Viral Video.
However, she was most talked about for her performance in Homi Adajania’s crime drama Saas, Bahu Aur Flamingo, which streamed on Disney+ Hotstar. Radhika Madan is keen to enter her “Govinda” phase – where she takes up more light, fun roles in commercial films. This year, Radhika will appear in Sanaa and Sarfira.
Music
Ankita Saigal a.k.a. Dot, 25
At 25, Aditi is the youngest in the ‘Entertainment & Music‘ category. Daughter of rock musician Amit Saigal and actor Shena Gamat, Aditi Saigal is a singer and musician who goes by her stage name of Dot. She made her acting debut as Ethel in Zoya Akhtar’s period coming-of-age musical The Archies on Netflix India which also featured original music and vocals by Dot. She boasts two lakh monthly listeners on Spotify and has garnered a loyal fanbase. Aditi will be releasing her album ‘Sea Creature on the Sofa‘ next year.
E-Commerce & Retail
Zepto Founders – Aadit Palicha, 21, and Kalvalya Vohra, 21
Youngest on the list at 21 years old, the co-founders of Zepto are Stanford dropouts who founded the company during Covid. Aadit Palicha and Kalvalya Vohra‘s Zepto is now one of India’s fastest-growing e-commerce companies with 150 stores and a target of annualised sales of $200 million by April 2025, as per Forbes. “The recent unicorn is valued at $1.6 billion and raised $235.4 million in 2023, backed by StepStone, Nexus, and Oliver Jung, among others,” the outlet said.
Art
Viraj Khanna, 28
Viraj Khanna’s artistic journey began fairly recently, but the winner of the art category quickly graduated to sculptures, paintings, textiles and embroidery. Son of the renowned designer Anamika Khanna, he has done shows at The Loft, Kolkata’s, and is now a part of a multi-artist show in Los Angeles.
After recognising a gap in the Pret market, Viraj and Vishesh Khanna founded AK-OK in 2020 to cater to aspirational customers of contemporary and edgy fashion. The brand offers a fresh and edgy take on luxury apparel, making high-end fashion more attainable for a broader audience. AK-OK has a retail presence in Kolkata, Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Ludhiana, and more. Overseas, it is available in Los Angeles and London.
Sports
Parul Chaudhary, 28
Twenty-four hours after Parul Chaudhary won a silver medal in the 3,000m steeplechase at the recent Asian Games in Hangzhou, she stood at the starting line of the 5,000m, in which she would clinch the gold. Parul became the first athlete in both women’s steeplechase and 5,000m in the Asiad. She also became the first Indian woman to win a 5,000m gold in the Asian Games. Parul Chaudhary and Jyothi Yarraji will be seen representing India next at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Finance
Seethalakshmy Narayanan, 29
The woman is the youngest-ever vice president of Premji Invest in its 17-year history, having led seven investments aggregating over $300 million. Seethalakshmy Narayanan believes MSME financing, cross-border supply chain financing and wealth management will emerge as key growth areas for India. She plans to become a principal and then a partner over the next three to five years. Before she turns 40, she wants to open her own private equity firm.
Click here to check out the whole Forbes 30 Under 30 List!
