Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been ranked as the world’s 9th most powerful person in the year 2015 by Forbes magazine. The list is surprisingly topped by the Russian President Vladimir Putin. In 2014, Modi was ranked 14th in the Forbes list of world’s most powerful people.
The list also has the German Chancellor Angela Merkel, US President Barack Obama, Pope Francis and Chinese President Xi Jinping on second, third, fourth and fifth positions respectively. Microsoft founder Bill Gates, US Federal Reserve Chairperson Janet Yellen, UK Prime Minister David Cameron and Google’s Larry Page grabbed the 6th to 10th positions respectively.
In its statement while releasing the 2015 list, Forbes said, “India’s populist Prime Minister presided over 7.4 per cent GDP growth in his first year in office, and “raised his profile” as a global leader during official visits with Barack Obama and Xi Jinping. Governing 1.2 billion people in India requires more than ‘shaking hands’ and that Modi must pass his party BJP’s reform agenda and keep ‘fractious opposition’ under control,” added the popular magazine.
Other notable Indians in the top 100 world’s most powerful people include the Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani (36th position) and Indian-origin steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal (55th) and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella (61st) respectiely.