Times Network’s flagship initiative, ET Now Leaders of Tomorrow Season 13 Awards, presented by IDFC FIRST Bank, culminated on 6 March 2026, bringing together some of India’s most dynamic entrepreneurs for an evening that celebrates ambition, resilience and the spirit of enterprise. Leaders of Tomorrow has evolved into one of India’s premier entrepreneurship platforms, dedicated to empowering, enabling and celebrating the spirit of enterprise. Over the years, the platform has built a strong legacy of championing India’s MSME sector, spotlighting businesses that drive innovation and economic growth.
This year’s awards, under the theme, “Agility. Ambition. Ascent,” recognised outstanding entrepreneurs across 17 categories and highlighted the kind of leadership required to adapt, scale, and steer India’s entrepreneurial ecosystem in an environment defined by uncertainty and disruption. The Chief Guest Dr. Shrikant Shinde, Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha delivered the Keynote address. Shiv Sena Member of Parliament, Shri Milind Deora, also graced the event and lauded Times Network, while praising Leaders of Tomorrow as India’s longest-running television show dedicated to entrepreneurs.
Talking about the theme and the growth of the sector, Chief Guest Shrikant Shinde said, “The theme is very apt and prompt. MSME’s which are growing at a tremendous pace. In India’s growth, MSME’s contributes 30%. LOT is awarding the growth engine of India who will take India to the third largest. MSME’s are playing a very important and crucial role. 50% of the exports are done by MSME’s. Under the leadership of our Prime Minister Narendra Modi, we have a very favourable environment where MSME’s are growing at a tremendous space. Maharashtra is number 1 in start-ups, FDIs, infrastructure. MSME’s also have a lot of scope in future. Such platforms are very much important for small entrepreneurs who come from rural areas, where MSME’s place a very crucial rule. A place like Mumbai has lot of industries, but in rural area, MSME’s are the growth engine of Viksit Bharat. The fund allotted for SME stands at 10,000 Crore, which is a boost for the industry. When an MSME or an entrepreneur, they have the power and strength to take the society and the country ahead.”
The landmark event featured a series of insightful conversations with prominent leaders across sectors. A fireside chat on “The Making of a Young AI Founder” featured Raul John Aju, Founder & CTO of Alrealm Technologies; the panel discussion titled “Climate is the New Cost Curve”, brough together environmentalist Sumaira Abdulali, Manvendra Singh Shekhawat of The MRS Group, and Amit Prothi, Director General of the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure; the ireside chat on “Building Bharat’s Industrial Future” featured Pawan Goenka, Chairman of Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Center (IN-SPACe), Department of Space, Government of India and Chairman of Steering Committee for Advancing Local Value-Add and Exports (SCALE), DPIIT, Government of India, moderated by Chiranjeevi Phanindra, Founder & CEO of Cosmoserve and former scientist at Indian Space Research Organisation. The discussions concluded with a panel titled “Ambition in a Fragmented World”, featuring Naina Lal Kidwai, Chair of Rothschild & Co India and the India Sanitation Coalition; Piruz Khambatta, Chairman of Rasna International; and Niranjan Hiranandani, Co-founder and Managing Director of the Hiranandani Group.
The winners of Leaders of Tomorrow Season 13 Awards were selected by a distinguished Grand Jury comprising 13 eminent industry leaders, including Dr Pawan Goenka, Chairman IN-SPACe, Department of Space, Govt of India & Chairman SCALE, DPIIT, GoI, Naina Lal Kidwai, Chair, Rothschild & Co India & India Sanitation Coalition, Piruz Khambatta, Chairman, Rasna International, Dr. Deepak Bagla, Mission Director, Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), NITI Aayog, Siddharth Banerjee, CEO, Univo, Amit Khatri, Co-Founder, Noise, Gautam Kapoor, COO & Co-Founder, Shiprocket, Jayant Krishna, Former CEO, NSDC & Senior Fellow, Chair in US-India Policy Studies, CSIS, Jerin Venad, Co-Founder & CEO, Cityflo, Anirban Banerjee, CEO, Eveready Industries, Shashank Srivastava, Executive Director, Maruti Suzuki India, Nilesh Satish Lele, President, Chamber for Advancement of Small & Medium Businesses and Prashant S. Naigaonkar, Startup Mentor and SME Advisor.
Over a month-long Call for Entries (CFE) campaign, MSMEs from across India were invited to participate. All submissions underwent a rigorous eligibility review in collaboration with our knowledge partner, Ernst & Young (EY) and the Grand Jury conducted in-depth deliberations to finalise the winners. The evening also featured some of India’s most respected industry voices like Dr. Pawan Goenka, Naina Lal Kidwai, Piruz Khambatta, Dr. Niranjan Hiranandani & more.
The 13th season of the Leaders of Tomorrow Awards is presented by IDFC FIRST Bank.