Born on 15th October 1931 at Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu, Dr. Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam, specialized in Aeronautical Engineering from Madras Institute of Technology. Dr. Kalam made significant contribution as Project Director to develop India's first indigenous Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV-III) which successfully injected the Rohini satellite in the near earth orbit in July 1980 and made India an exclusive member of Space Club. He was responsible for the evolution of ISRO's launch vehicle programme, particularly the PSLV configuration. After working for two decades in ISRO and mastering launch vehicle technologies, Dr. Kalam took up the responsibility of developing Indigenous Guided Missiles at Defence Research and Development Organisation as the Chief Executive of Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP). He was responsible for the development and operationalisation of AGNI and PRITHVI Missiles and for building indigenous capability in critical technologies through networking of multiple institutions. He was the Scientific Adviser to Defence Minister and Secretary, Department of Defence Research & Development from July 1992 to December 1999. During this period he led to the weaponisation of strategic missile systems and the Pokhran-II nuclear tests in collaboration with Department of Atomic Energy, which made India a nuclear weapon State. He also gave thrust to self-reliance in defence systems by progressing multiple development tasks and mission projects such as Light Combat Aircraft.

As Chairman of Technology Information, Forecasting and Assessment Council (TIFAC) and as an eminent scientist, he led the country with the help of 500 experts to arrive at Technology Vision 2020 giving a road map for transforming India from the present developing status to a developed nation. Dr. Kalam has served as the Principal Scientific Advisor to the Government of India, in the rank of Cabinet Minister, from November 1999 to November 2001 and was responsible for evolving policies, strategies and missions for many development applications. Dr. Kalam was also the Chairman, Ex-officio, of the Scientific Advisory Committee to the Cabinet (SAC-C) and piloted India Millennium Mission 2020.

Dr. Kalam took up academic pursuit as Professor, Technology & Societal Transformation at Anna University, Chennai from November 2001 and was involved in teaching and research tasks. Above all he took up a mission to ignite the young minds for national development by meeting high school students across the country.

In his literary pursuit four of Dr. Kalam's books - "Wings of Fire", "India 2020 - A Vision for the New Millennium", "My journey" and "Ignited Minds - Unleashing the power within India" have become household names in India and among the Indian nationals abroad. These books have been translated in many Indian languages.

Dr. Kalam is one of the most distinguished scientists of India with the unique honour of receiving honorary doctorates from 30 universities and institutions. He has been awarded the coveted civilian awards - Padma Bhushan (1981) and Padma Vibhushan (1990) and the highest civilian award Bharat Ratna (1997). He is a recipient of several other awards and Fellow of many professional institutions.

Dr. Kalam became the 11th President of India on 25th July 2002. His focus is on transforming India into a developed nation by 2020.

Presently, he is the Minster of State for Corporate Affairs and Minority Affairs (Independent Charge) in the Government of India. He is the son of Khurshed Alam Khan and grandson of Dr. Zakir Hussain, the third President of India.

He studied at Delhi Public School, St. Stephen's College, Delhi and St. Edmund Hall, Oxford. He was a Junior Research Fellow and then Lecturer at Trinity College, Oxford

He was an Officer on Special Duty in the Prime Minister's Office, during the Prime Ministership of Mrs. Indira Gandhi, and was the Minister of State for External Affairs in the Government of India from 1991-1996. During this period he was a Member of Parliament from the Farrukhabad constituency in Uttar Pradesh. He has been the President of the Uttar Pradesh Pradesh Congress Committee twice.

He was also the President of the Delhi Public School Society and Dr. Zakir Hussain Study Circle.

He worked in Atos Origin India Pvt ltd for the period of 1999-2003 as CEO.

In the Parliamentary (Lok Sabha) Elections 2009, he has won the from the Farrukhabad Constituency of Uttar Pradesh with 169351 votes as a candidate of Indian National Congress

Sudini Jaipal Reddy (born 16 January 1942) is a member of the 15th Lok Sabha of India. He represents the Chevella constituency of Andhra Pradesh and is a member of the Indian National Congress. He is currently the Cabinet Minister of Urban Development. He has an M.A. from the Osmania University, Hyderabad. He is disabled and uses crutches.

Between 1969 and 1984 he was an MLA of Kalwakurthy, a constituency in Andhra Pradesh for four terms. He was a member of the Congress Party but quit it to protest against the emergency and joined the Janata Party in 1977. He contested the 1980 Lok Sabha elections unsuccessfully from Medak against Indira Gandhi. He was the general secretary of the Janata Party from 1985 to 1988. He was elected to the Lok Sabha five times: the 8th Lok Sabha in 1984 (in alliance with TDP), the 12th in 1998 (again as ally of TDP), the 13th in 1999 (as a member of the Congress Party), the 14th in 2004 (as a member of the Congress Party) and the 15th in 2009 (as a member of the Congress Party). He was also a member of the Rajya Sabha on two occasions, 1990–1996 and 1997–1998. He also held the position of leader of opposition in the Rajya Sabha for a year from June 1991 to June 1992. In 1999–2000, he was the Chairman of Committee of privileges. He served as the minister for Information and Broadcasting in the government on two occasions: in 1997–1998 under I. K. Gujral and from 2004 under Manmohan Singh with additional responsibility for Culture.

A unique facet of his political career has been that he acted as the spokesman for all the parties of which he has been a member. He is known for the quality of his debates in the parliament and was awarded the Outstanding Parliamentarian Award in 1998.

He first joined the African National Congress as a student in 1942, working toward the goal of emancipation from apartheid. He spent 27 years behind bars before emerging in 1990 and becoming president of the ANC. In 1993, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. He served as president of South Africa from 1994-99.

Mr. Habil Khorakiwala, the Chairman of Wockhardt Limited, founded the company in the early 1960s. Under his dynamic leadership, Wockhardt has emerged as a leading biotechnology and pharmaceutical company, driven by research and global strategies. Today, Wockhardt has an annual turnover of US$ 650 million, and a market capitalisation of over $ 1 billion.

Mr. Khorakiwala leads a team of 7000 employees based in India, UK, Ireland, Germany, USA, France and in emerging markets.

Management style:

Mr. Khorakiwala advocates a customer-centric approach that has filtered down to every decision and action in Wockhardt. His signature style is much evident in the management processes at Wockhardt : an open culture, participative management practices, innovation, continuous improvement, speedy response, empowerment of individuals and enjoyment of one’s job and contribution to the community - all hallmarks of Wockhardt's culture.

Industry-level representation:

• Past President of FICCI (Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry).
• President of the Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance (IPA), the organisation of research-based pharmaceutical companies in India.
• Panel member of the National Manufacturing Competitiveness Council, a high-level think-tank established by the Government of India.

Accolades received:

• Elected as the FICCI president in Feb 2007.
• Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award in Healthcare & Lifesciences (Year 2004).
• The Giants 2003 Award for outstanding contribution to business and industry.
• Lifetime Achievement Award by the International Medical Integration Council in 2003.
• Award for ‘Excellence as Top CEO’ for the year 2002 from the Institute of Marketing & Management (IMM), New Delhi.
• Lifetime Achievement Award by the Indian Analytical Instruments Association (ANACON) for his ‘Contributions in Research and Industry’.
• Shiromani Vikas Award for his ‘Outstanding and Inspiring Contribution towards National Development’ in 1992, at the hands of Mother Teresa.
• Lifetime achievement award from Express Pharma

Educational qualifications:

• A Masters degree in Pharmaceutical Science from Purdue University, USA.
• An Advanced Management Programme from Harvard Business School, USA.

Madhu S Yaskhi, a name to be reckoned in the international community as a legal professional who had helped many Indian brethren solve their problems amicably in an alien land. In a profession where people make a mark after long periods of service, Madhu had made a name for himself by delivering legal service to expatriate communities, particularly Indians having problems in America. He had founded the International Legal and Trade Consultants and through this organization he had been able to impart valuable legal help to solve personal problems of people of Indian origin and also businesses started by them. According to him, many Indians and in specific the Telugu speaking are in the forefront of computer revolution both in India and in the United States of America. Madhu had been behind the success of many among them.

Born on 15 December 1960 to Y. Kistaiah and Y. Sulochana in a middle class agricultural family in Hayatnagar, Madhu has six sisters and four brothers. He is the second among them. His father’s younger brother Y. Pochaiah and wife Y. Anasuya adopted Madhu.

Regarding his education, Madhu studied in the local Zilla Parishad School. Later he completed his intermediate education from the City College with BPC (Biology, Physics and Chemistry) group; and then, his Bachelors Degree with Arts from the Nizam’s College. He finished his LLB from Delhi University between 1982-85; and later LLM from Osmania University. Though an average student, he managed to get a double promotion from Third standard to Fifth standard.

Almost all sports attracted Madhu. He used to play Ball badminton and was the captain of the team in his intermediate days. Reading also was one of his hobbies. He developed keen interest in reading Telugu literature and History. At a very young age, he read almost all the books of the great Telugu scholar Vishwanatha Satyanarayana.

Madhu had the qualities of a leader right from early childhood. Even in school, from First standard onwards, except for one year, he was the class leader. When he was in the eighth standard, he participated in the school elections and was elected General Secretary. This was an overwhelming achievement for Madhu as the two other candidates who contested with him were tenth class students. Sidelining them, the students had voted in Madhu’s favour. This was a clear indication of Madhu’s leadership qualities. While in the tenth class, he was elected President of the school.

Even in college, there was no set back to his leadership qualities. Change of atmosphere and place did not cause any hindrance or we can say that he did not allow hindrances to block his way to success. Even in college, he was the Vice President of the Student’s Union of PG College and Nizam College Students Union. While doing his LLM, he was the University Law College President. And now, he is contesting for the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections with the Congress ticket, with an innate desire to serve the poor, downtrodden and needy people, especially of Andhra Pradesh.

He married Dr Shuchee, a gynecologist in the year 1991. The couple have two children. Madhu’s father died in a road accident in the year 1990. As there was no immediate medical attention, his condition deteriorated and he died. Madhu was very much moved by the sudden demise of his father in such a tragic way and this incident left a deep impact on his life. It also inspired him to become a cause for giving life to many accident victims and thus encouraged wife Dr Shuchee to change her subject from gynecology to endocrinology. Dr Shuchee had worked successfully in many hospitals in the United States of America. And now, she returned to India, for the sake of her children’s education and also with an intention to settle down in one place.

Sajjan Jindal, Vice Chairman and Managing Director, JSW Steel, has come up with an ambitious programme in order to increase his presence in the core steel business. There are also indications that he is also interested in diversifying into the sectors such as power, cement, aluminium and infrastructure.

Sajjan Jindal, the second son of the late O.P. Jindal is the most aggressive of the four Jindal brothers. For instance, he doesn’t like his businesses being called the Sajjan Jindal Group. As a matter of fact, he has named his company Jindal South West Holding (JSW) Group.

In terms of statistic, Jindal at this moment of time has projects worth more than Rs 60,000 crore in his chosen sectors in various stages of implementation. It is worth mentioning in this regard that all the new verticals—energy, cement, aluminium and infrastructure— will tap the IPO market once financial closure is achieved.

According to sources, Jindal is moving fast in the power business. It has been making the headlines in the Indian media that JSW Energy plans to build 15,000 MW of capacity by 2015. Initial signs are that JSW Energy will tap the capital market in the first half of this year with a $1-billion IPO to part-finance its plans.

On the other side of the coin, JSW Cement is also lining up to tap the primary market. Point to be noted here is that Jindal has decided to set up a 5.3 MTPA slag-based cement plant in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.

Venugopal Dhoot (born 30 Sep 1951 in Mumbai, India) is an Indian business tycoon. He is an alumnus of prestigious FERGUSON COLLEGE,PUNE,India. He was born in a marwadi-banya family. The Marwadi business community hail from Rajasthan, India and are known for producing some of India's finest entrepreneurs and industrialists. He is married to Rama Dhoot, and has two children Anirudh and Surbhi. His personal fortune is estimated to be 1.6 Billion dollars.

His father, the late Nandlal Madhavlal Dhoot, was an Indian industrialist who made his earlier fortune in the sugarcane and cotton industry. Nandlal Dhoot was the founder of Videocon Corporation and other businesses ventures such as, Videocon Electronics. The company's major breakthrough came when it received one of India's first licenses to make color televisions. As of 2008, Venugopal is its chairman, and it now makes a wide range of electronic consumer goods. Venugopal Dhoot is credited with expanding Videocon Industries from a billion dollar company into a mutli-billion dollar business conglomerate spanning the globe. Videocon Industries is active in India, Oman, Australia, East Timor, France, Sweden, United States, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Netherlands, Finland, Mauritania, Kenya, Maldives, Myanmar, China, Mongolia, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Germany, Spain, Japan, Dubai, Turkey, Tajikstan, Egypt, England, Mexico, Canada, Indonesia, Malaysia, Angola, Burundi, Zimbabwe and Taiwan. Videocon Industries has a major presence in consumer electronics, telcommunications, oil exploration, glass manufacturing, semiconductors and the Asian entertainment industry. His company recently bought a color picture tube unit from the French company Thompson SA, and a refrigerator business from Swedish company Electrolux. According to Forbes, he is the eighteenth richest man in India.

Venugopal Dhoot is an avid cricket fan and accomplished flautist. The Videocon School of Cricket launched in Kolkata, India under the guidance of former Indian Cricket Captain, Saurav Ganguly trains and promotes young cricketers of India in the age group of 10 to 17. Venugopal Dhoot is an environmental enthusiast who is credited for completing a project for planting 2,00,000 teak trees across India. His brother, Rajkumar, is a member of the Indian Parliament.

Venugopal Dhoot is a proud Marathi industrialist. He calls himself Maharashtra's "son of the soil". He plans a project in CIDCO Navi Mumbai.

Malvinder Mohan Singh, Group Chairman, Religare & Fortis Healthcare, is an entrepreneur known for his aggressive style of management who has set a scorching pace of growth and diversification for the group companies.

Prior to this, Malvinder was the Chairman, Managing Director and CEO of Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd. Malvinder put Ranbaxy in a position of leadership and consummated over 14 inorganic deals across geographies in less than two years. He unlocked value in Ranbaxy’s business model and focused the company on future growth drivers by monetizing large on-going patent challenges, investing resources in high growth emerging markets and forging strategic research alliances with global big pharma. Malvinder is credited of have having successfully led the company through a cultural transformation initiating a series of enterprise wide people centric initiatives. Most recently, in a landmark deal, Malvinder spearheaded the coming together of Ranbaxy and Daiichi Sankyo, a leading Japanese innovator, to create a pharmaceutical powerhouse. This deal is widely acknowledged as a game changer by the global pharma industry with other companies now trying to replicate Malvinder’s success.

Malvinder is a member of the Young Global Leaders Forum (YGL), an initiative of the World Economic Forum (WEF). He is also a member of the board of visitors at the Fuqua School of Business, Duke University and serves on the board of the INSEAD Global India Council. A member of the Board of Trade, constituted by the Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Government of India, Malvinder advises the Government on critical Policy issues relating to the country’s Foreign Trade, with the objective of significantly advancing India’s exports. Malvinder is also a member of the Board of the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER)

Malvinder earned his MBA from the Fuqua School of Business, Duke University, USA, after graduating in Economics from the St Stephen’s College, New Delhi, India.

Mr. Uday S. Kotak is an Executive Vice Chairman and Managing Director at Kotak Mahindra Bank Limited. He has been with the firm since August, 2002. Mr. Kotak is the principal Founder and Promoter at Kotak Mahindra Finance Ltd. He is responsible for the growth of Kotak Mahindra from a fledgling finance company to a financial institution providing the full basket of financial services. Mr. Kotak has over 18 years of experience in the financial services industry. He is a Director of Kotak Mahindra Asset Management Company Limited. He is the Chairman of Kotak Securities Ltd. He is also the Chairman and Director of Kotak Mahindra Primus Limited. Mr. Kotak is also Director of Kotak Mahindra Bank Limited. He is on the board of the following subsidiary companies of Kotak Mahindra Bank Limited: Kotak Securities Limited, Kotak Mahindra Capital Company Limited, and OM Kotak Mahindra Life Insurance Company Limited. He serves on the Boards of Bajaj Hindustan Limited, Dabur India Limited, Ford Credit Kotak Mahindra Limited, Kotak Forex Brokerage Limited, Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services Limited, Hutchison Max Telecom Private Limited, Business Standard Limited, and Indiacar.com Private Limited. Previusly, he has served as Non Executive Director of Blue Star Limited until October 2002. He is a Member of Advisory Committee of National Stock Exchange of India Ltd. Mr. Kotak, received a B. Com degree and a Post-graduate degree in Business Administration from Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies of Mumbai University

Barkha Dutt (born December 18, 1971) is an Indian TV journalist and columnist. She is currently Group Editor, English News at New Delhi Television

Dutt gained prominence for her reportage of the Kargil War. She has won many awards, including the Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian honour. However, she has also come in for criticism that her reporting is sensationalist and melodramatic. Barkha Dutt was born in New Delhi. She studied at Modern School, New Delhi, graduated from St. Stephen's College, Delhi with a degree in English literature. She received a Master's in Mass Communications from Jamia Millia Islamia and a Master's in Journalism from Columbia University, New York.
[1] She was one of the winners of the prestigious Inlaks Scholarship, which sends 6 Indians overseas to study every year.
As a journalist, Dutt began her career at NDTV when it was a TV production house creating news programmes and providing content to Star TV. Later, NDTV created its own independent news and content channels, and Barkha Dutt rose to be its Managing Editor for English News. She is currently Group Editor-English News. Dutt's reporting of the Kargil conflict in 1999, including an interview with Captain Vikram Batra, brought her to prominence in India. She has since covered conflicts in Kashmir, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iraq. She won a Padma Shri for her coverage of the 2004 Tsunami

[2] and Commonwealth Broadcasters Award for Journalist of the Year. Her Sunday talk show has won the most awards for any show across television channels, winning the Indian Television Academy award for Best Talk Show five years in a row. In 2008, Dutt received the Indian News Broadcasting Award for the Most Intelligent News Show Host.

[3] She has been awarded the Global Leader of Tomorrow Award twice by the World Economic Forum (2001, 2008)

[4]. She has also received Society's Young Achievers Award.

[5] She is a nominated member of India's National Integration Council. She was also Asia Society Fellow in 2006 and serves on the International Advisory Council of the Asia Society.

[6] In an SMS survey of the readers of the Hindi daily Hindustan, Dutt won the second place in the "Media Leaders" category

Mr. Lalit Kumar Modi, is the Chairman and Commissioner of Indian Premier League, Chairman of Champions League, Vice President of BCCI, Vice President of Punjab Cricket Association, He is also the President & Managing Director of Modi Enterprises and Executive Director of Godfrey Philips India.

Born in 1963 in Delhi, India, to a Marwari family, Lalit Kumar Modi studied at the prestigious St.Joseph's College, Nainital. He attended Duke University in the United States, graduating in 1986 with a degree in marketing.

Awards and recognitions

• He was awarded "The Business Standard Award" for making BCCI the Most Innovative Company in India for the year 2008.
• On Sep 25, 2008 he was awarded "Brand Builder of the Year" by Asia Brand Conference.
• On Sep 26, 2008 he was awarded by CNBC Awaaz "The Consumer Award for Transforming Cricket in India"
• On Oct 6, 2008 he was awarded by NDTV Profit "The Most Innovative Business Leader in India".
• On Oct 24, 2008 he was awarded by Frost & Sullivan Growth Excellence Awards For "Excellence in Innovation".
• On Nov 8, 2008 he was awarded the "Teacher's Achievement of the Year award.
• On Nov 12, 2008 he was awarded "Sports Business- Rushmans Award For Sports Event Innovation".
• On Jan 22, 2009 he was awarded "CNBC Business Leader" award.

He was listed among India's 20 most powerful people by India Today magazine. He was included because the BCCI's revenues have increased seven-fold since he joined the board in 2005 and because "no one in cricket wants to be on his wrong side". He is known to be a cricket administrator![2] In the 2008 August issue of the leading sports magazine Sports Pro he is ranked number 17 in the Power List of global figures connected with sports. He is further hailed as the Best Rain Maker (money maker) for any sports body in the history of sports Globally. In the short time that he has been a sports administrator he has raised over four billion U.S. dollars for his organisation. All this he has done in an Honorary capacity. He has been described as the most powerful man in Cricket by Mike Atherton in his article in the Telegraph. Time Magazines July 2008, lists him no 16 in their listing of Best Sports Executives in the World for 2008. In the October 2008 issue of international Business magazine Business Week - Lalit Modi was voted no 19 in the list of 25 most powerful Global Sports figures. Lalit Modi also won the NDTV award for the Most Innovative Business Leader of India. In the Nov issue of India's Leading Business magazine Business Today put Modi on its cover and named him one of India's Best Marketers. On the 31st of Dec the annual SportzPower List 2008 ranked him No 1 and the DNA newspaper ranked him 17 on there list of 50 Most Influential people in India. Successfully organised IPL-2 in South Africa in 2009 with a three weeks notice only of having to move from India. In its Sep 2009 issue Forbes Magazine described the IPL as "The World's Hottest Sports League". This distinction is remarable for a league that just began over a year and a half ago and all credit goes to the Master Mind Lalit Modi

Pravin Iyer, 42 is the Group CFO of Medreich Limited. He is BCom AICWA and has worked in the Pharmaceutical Industry for past 18 Years. During the last 8 years at Medreich he has spearheaded the companies various Joint Ventures, Strategic Marketing tie-ups and successful M&A’s besides Financial Management. He has worked in various capacities as head of Finance, Operations, Supply Chain Management and International Marketing.

Pravin is on the Board of Medreich’s Joint Venture Manufacturing enterprise with Adcock Ingram South Africa and on the Board of the Company’s R&D JV with Substipharm France.

Pravin also heads the Medreich’s domestic marketing enterprise as it Managing Director.