Youth icons from Bihar are now leading by example and it’s not surprising to see that Minister of state for disaster management Nitish Mishra has been selected as one among the eight young achievers of Pepsi MTV Youth Icons for 2008. He, along with other icons, would now feature on one million Pepsi My cans.

The selection was made through online voting and SMS. The selected eight come from different walks of life. They are fashion designer, food chain owner, boxer, cyber security guru, filmmaker, musician, development professional and, of course, politician. They have been selected from among 30 nominees who were shortlisted from 8,000 plus entries.

The organisers, instead of looking for super achievers, opted for those who have made a difference. And the minister from Bihar with a postgraduate diploma in global political economy from University of Hull, UK, fitted the bill for making it to the list.

As the minister of disaster management in Bihar, he was the driving force behind the rescue operations following the Kosi floods early this year. Supervising one of the biggest rescue operations in the world, Nitish helped evacuate almost 10 lakh people.

After studying Global Political Economy from the University of Hull, United Kingdom, Nitish Mishra could have pretty much done anything that he wanted to. But unlike his peers who went for high paying Development sector jobs, Nitish went for the most unexpected option. He joined politics! As the Minister of Disaster Management in Bihar, Nitish has been the driving force behind the flood rescue operations in Bihar.

Nitish was identified as one of the most promising social entrepreneurs by Digital Partners Seattle, a venture capital firm funding technology companies, for his E-Swasthya project in Madhubani district of Bihar. From social entrepreneurship to social justice and equality, Nitish continues to be the steady worker that he is!

Watch Nitish's winning video here