Forbes lists PM Modi as the 15th most powerful man in the world.
Narendra Modi
New York: Forbes lists PM Modi as the 15th most powerful man in the world. The list topped by Russian President Vladimir Putin who pipped his US counterpart Barack Obama for a second year in a row.
The list of 72 most powerful people in the world also included the names of Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani at 36th, ArcelorMittal Chairman and CEO Lakshmi Mittal at 57th and Microsoft’s Indian-born CEO Satya Nadella at 64th.
On Modi, Forbes said “India’s newest rock star doesn’t hail from Bollywood. He is the newly elected Prime Minister who sailed into office in May with a landslide victory, ushering the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) into power after decades of control by the Gandhi dynasty.”
On Modi, Forbes said “He is the newly elected PM who sailed into office in May with a landslide victory, ushering BJP into power after decades of control by the Gandhi dynasty.”
Forbes described him as a “Hindu nationalist” and refereed to the 2002 Gujarat riots when he was the state’s Chief Minister. “Modi is credited with massive reconstruction projects in his home state of Gujarat. His administration promises to bring economic rejuvenation to other beleaguered parts of India. The world is as impressed as the citizens of India: So far he’s toured the US and China and met with his Southeast Asian neighbours,” the magazine said.A notable omission from the list is Congress Party President Sonia Gandhi, who was the highest ranked Indian last year at 21. The next Indian after Modi on the list is Ambani at 36th. Forbes said Ambani has business ventures in petrochemicals, manufacturing, oil and gas production, and now wireless sectors, “the sum of which have landed him as the richest person in India for eight years running.”It noted Reliance’s $655 million acquisition of media outfit Network18. In October, Modi inaugurated Ambani’s Reliance Foundation’s new hospital in Mumbai, “ending rumours about Ambani’s waning clout in New Delhi,” it said.
This year there are nine women on the list, representing 12 per cent of the world’s most powerful — in stark contrast to being 50 per cent of the world’s population. While the same number as last year, the inaugural list from 2009 included only three women leaders. Alexey Miller, CEO of Russian gas giant Gazprom, makes a return appearance after dropping of the list in years past.
