R K Misra is the winner of the Lead India initiative. The final winner was declared by President APJ Abdul Kalam. Ahmedabad's Devang Nanavati is the runners up. Lead India campaign is an endeavor to bring out the most suitable leaders of tomorrow. Nowadays, when every other channel is emphasizing on the search of dancing and singing talents, throughout the country, the concept of this show was quite unique in itself. The show gained overwhelming response from far and wide. 
 

About The Show 

‘Lead India’ is a unique initiative took by ‘The Times of India’ in association with a popular Hindi entertainment channel - ‘Star One’ and news partner ‘Times Now’. The show has a pioneering concept which is directed towards seeking the next generation leaders in India. This show provides a platform to those ‘common people’ who are neither career politicians, nor born in the political dynasties.

 

It will expose the leadership qualities, vision and ideas of the candidates who have enough courage and patience to lead the nation from the front and take it into a glorious future. Not only this, the show will also allow millions of Indians to freely express their opinions helping them to choose a new breed of leaders.

 

All the action of this 10-week long programme shall take place in eight centres across India. These are Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Pune and Hyderabad.

 

The Jury 

The jury panel composed by the Times group will rigorously judge each candidate of the ‘Lead India’ show. This panel will comprise of the achievers from different walks of life like politics, sports, education, business, social activism etc. They will closely evaluate each candidate on various parameters. These will include their ability to lead the nation into future while resisting the constraints of the current political system, their ability to conceptualize a specific set of goals and converting them into practical and executable programs.

 

Other evaluation criteria’s would include the administration & leadership skills of the candidates as well as their quality of staying focused on their goals despite the immense pressures of the Indian political system. Other than this, the viewers will also vote the candidates on the basis of their on-stage performance, via phone, SMS and e-mail. 

 

The Grand Finale 

The journey of ‘Lead India’ is coming to an end with its Grand Finale going to be held on February 9, 2008. The show saw many ups and downs with all the candidates trying to make a mark for themselves in the hearts of the judges and the viewers, with his / her leadership skills and other qualities of a future leader.

 

In the Super 8 round, the city winners from each centre gave their best shot. They debated on “Whether India should switch to a Presidential system?” On this occasion, they were judged by eminent personalities like former Chief of the Army Staff General J.J. Singh (Retd.), Solicitor General of India Goolam E. Vahanvati, young Congress MP Sachin Pilot and former Miss India and entrepreneur Manpreet Brar Wallia. The audience including the registered members of Lead India and India Poised websites and those who could not make it to the Super 8 round judged the contestants, as well.