Forbes India 30 Under 30: A class apart
The 2026 list features those who dare to dream and believe in the power of possibilities
Last Updated: Jan 06, 2026, 10:23 IST2 min
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From rediscovering creativity to capitalising on a breakthrough year in sports, meet the listees of Forbes India 30 Under 30 2026, a class full of performers who are a mix of artificial intelligence (AI) innovators, artisan designers, financial wizards, and more.
Now in its 13th year, Forbes India’s annual and most-awaited list has people across 15 categories, including two newly added ones—D2C and Defence & Space. The Advertising & Marketing category has been reintroduced this year.
View full list: Forbes India 30 Under 30 2026: Meet our young groundbreakers and trendsetters
The cohort, all under the age of 30, is a unique mix of self-motivated entrepreneurs, professionals, sportspersons and creative artistes in the fields of music, film and design.
There is Moumita Basak, who grew up in a West Bengal village, and rebelled against her family to study art. She found her mojo as an artist who works with Kantha stitching and is today recognised both nationally and internationally.
Mubassirah Khalid Khatri, 26, a designer originating from Kutch, Gujarat, is another inspirational story. Born into a family of Ajrakh printers, she has broken barriers by becoming the first female artisan in three generations to create handcrafted textiles that merge age-old block-printing techniques with contemporary aesthetics. In March, Somaiya Kala Vidya (SKV) made a historic debut at Lakmé Fashion Week x FDCI. Khatri was one of the five artisan-designers featured, who transitioned from traditional craftspeople to independent creative leads on a global stage.
In the booming world of AI, Ritesh Singh of Arivihan is democratising quality education and has built India’s first AI tutor in such a way that it becomes affordable for children and college students in tier 2 and rural India.
Other champions include actor Aneet Padda who was the breakthrough star of 2025 with Saiyaara. Starring newcomers, the film was a massive box office success, and the 23-year-old has emerged as an artiste to watch out for.
The Forbes India 30 Under 30 is a 300-plus group of names and people we recognised before the world did. Here’s to those who dare to dream, and will remind the generations to come that the future belongs to those who believe in the power of possibilities.
Methodology
The research process was three-fold: One was interviews by the Forbes India team with sources across relevant categories as well as through studies of databases and media coverage. Two, on forbesindia.com, inviting applications from, or nominations of, entrepreneurs and professionals who fit the criteria. Three, spreading the word on social media. This helped us arrive at a long list across 15 categories, including introducing two new ones—D2C and Defence & Space—besides reintroducing Advertising and Marketing this year. The next step was narrowing down to a ‘shorter longlist’—the names most likely to make it to the top were decided in consultation with experts in each category. The last stage was finalising the winners for 2026. Armed with expert views, the Forbes India editorial team debated, argued and vetoed its way down to the final list from close to a thousand nominations. We have only considered for selection those who were under the age of 30 as of December 31, 2025 (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.
First Published: Jan 06, 2026, 10:41
Subscribe Now(This story appears in the Jan 09, 2026 issue of Forbes India. To visit our Archives, Click here.)
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