Bhubaneswar: Five young innovators and entrepreneurs from Odisha have been named in the prestigious Forbes Asia 30 Under-30 list for 2025.
The quintet to be honoured are — IG Drones co-founders Bodhisattaw Sanghapriya and Om Prakash; Young Tinker Foundation co-founders Anil Pradhan and Vaishali Sharma; and SpaceFields co-founder Apurwa Masook.
Sanghapriya, Om Prakash and Masook have been picked in the Industry, Manufacturing and Energy category, while Pradhan and Sharma secured places in Social Impact category of the Forbes Asia 30 Under-30 list.
Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, Deputy Chief Ministers KV Singh Deo and Pravati Parida, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan congratulated the young entrepreneurs.
IG Drones played a role in India’s Operation Sindoor, according to reports. In the early hours of May 7, Indian Armed Forces destroyed nine selected terror hubs in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir to avenge the deadly April 22 Pahalgam attack in which 26 innocent civilians were shot dead by terrorists.
A Delhi-headquartered company, IG Drones is a premier defence technology company specialising in the design, development, and deployment of advanced unmanned aerial systems (UAS) and counter-unmanned solutions, according to its website.
The company has developed four models for mapping, surveillance and agriculture spraying, with government organisations, universities and companies being its customers.
SpaceFields, a Bengaluru-based firm, develops fuel systems and rocket propulsion technologies for space, commercial flights and defence sector.
Young Tinker Foundation, which builds ‘Skill Consciousness’ and promotes ‘Problem-Solving through Hands-On STEM’ (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) among high school students, focuses on empowering students to ideate, prototype, and build solutions.
Thrilled to share that my partner, Vaishali Sharma, and I have been named to the @Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia 2025 list in the Social Impact category!
Here’s to continuing the mission for underserved learners everywhere at @YoungTinkerFdn .Cheers!#ForbesUnder30 #ForbesU30Asia pic.twitter.com/01Gq6fYT0x
— Anil Pradhan (@AnilPradhanEdu) May 15, 2025
