Meet the 18 under 18
Meet the 18 under 18
Winners
Meet the Jury
Our esteemed jury will comprise academics, industry leaders and celebrity achievers.
Dr Jai Ranjan Ram
Dr. Jai Ranjan Ram is a leading psychiatrist with an MD in psychiatry from NIMHANS, Bangalore, an MRCPsych from the UK and CCST in child and adolescent psychiatry. He is also the co-founder of the Mental Health Foundation (MHF) Kolkata.
Tanusree Shankar
Danseuse Tanusree Shankar amalgamates traditional Indian dance with modern ballet at the Ananda Shankar Centre for Performing Arts. She received the prestigious Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 2011 and has performed all over the world. Thanks to her tireless efforts, the Ananda Shankar Centre has been a cradle for talent through the decades.
Bickram Ghosh
Bickram Ghosh, an Indian percussionist renowned for his skills with the tabla, leads the Rhythmscape group and has collaborated with legendary artistes such as Ravi Shankar, Amjad Ali Khan and Zakir Hussain. His diverse discography as well as his portfolio of Bengali and Hindi films as music director reflect his multifaceted contributions to Indian music.
Debaditya Chaudhury
Debaditya Chaudhury is an Indian entrepreneur and musician. He founded the Chowman chain of Chinese restaurants in 2010, which has expanded to 29 outlets across Kolkata, Bangalore, and Delhi. Additionally, he co-founded Oudh 1590, specialising in biryani, and Chapter 2, offering continental cuisine with live music. Beyond his culinary ventures, Debaditya is the keyboardist for the Bengali rock band Lakkhichhara.
Indrajit Bhalotia
Indrajit Bhalotia, who held the title of India’s youngest professional golfer (at 17), is now the golfing guru of the city. He is the founder of Protouch Sports, passionately training youngsters in golf, advocating the expansion of golf accessibility across India and the introduction of sporting activities in schools.
Sujata Sen
Sujata Sen is the CEO of Future Hope, an organisation that works with underprivileged children in Kolkata. Earlier, she was Director East India of the British Council, covering all the states of East and Northeast India for education, English Language training, examinations and the arts. She is the Managing Trustee of KMOMA (Kolkata Museum of Modern Art) and the Director of the Kolkata Literature Festival.
Dibyendu Barua
Dibyendu Barua is India’s second chess Grandmaster, achieving the prestigious title in 1991. A formidable player, he has won the National Chess Championship three times. He was honoured with the Arjuna Award, one of India’s highest accolades for sporting excellence. Beyond his achievements as a player, Barua is deeply involved in nurturing the next generation of chess talents. He serves as the director of the Dibyendu Barua Chess Academy, where he mentors aspiring players and promotes chess across the country.
Mudar Patherya
Mudar Patherya is the head of Trisys Communications, and the head and the heart behind some of the best-loved projects to revive Kolkata. In his own words, he is a waster. He has wasted 62 years of his life pursuing butterflies, besotted with bylanes, quoting Urdu kalaam, cleaning water bodies, lifting garden garbage, writing cricket, ogling decaying buildings and illuminating heritage facades. He wants to transform the destiny of his city even as he writes corporate Balance Sheets and media columns.
Sumantra Chattarji
Sumantra Chattarji received his Master’s degree in Physics from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur. He then went on to do a Ph.D. in Neuroscience at the Johns Hopkins University and Salk Institute. After post-doctoral research at Yale University and MIT, he started his own laboratory at the National Centre for Biological Sciences, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Bangalore, India in 1999
About the Awards
The Telegraph Online Edugraph, an education portal from the house of ABP Digital, brings to you the 18 under 18 Awards 2025, which recognise and reward 18 young achievers under the age of 18 from Eastern India. Edugraph is a friend and guide to young people making the transition from campus to career.
Read MoreAreas of excellence
Sports
Performing Arts
Content Creation
STEM Excellence
Entrepreneurship
Unconventional Brilliance
Writing & Poetry
Environmental Stewardship
Debate /Public
Speaking/Quizzing
Art
Community
Service & Citizenship
Nomination Criteria
- The nominee should be between the ages of 8 to 18 years on January 31, 2025
- The nominee should be a resident of any one of the following States:
- West Bengal, Odisha, Bihar, Jharkhand, Sikkim, Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Nagaland, or Arunachal Pradesh
- The nominee National should be an Indian National
Nomination Process
Nominations will be accepted Online (only) by clicking on the ‘Submit Nomination’ button made available on this website
Nominations can be submitted by
- Schools
- Parents, Guardians or relatives
- Students themselves
- Coaches and mentors
Evaluation
- A team of educationists and editors will identify the 50 finalists from the entries received
- A special jury will interview the finalists online and select the 18 winners
- The winners will be declared at the Grand Finale
Our Partners
Winner Gratification
Each of the 18 winners will receive
Trophy
Certificate ofExcellence
Gift