Congress President Sonia Gandhi and India-born PepsiCo Chief Indra Nooyi figure among the top 10 in the global list of most powerful women compiled by Forbes magazine for 2013.
Gandhi is ranked ninth while Nooyi is at the 10th place in the global list of World’s 100 most powerful women.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel tops the list for the third consecutive year, followed by Brazil’s President Dilma Rousseff, Melinda Gates of Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, US First lady Michelle Obama and philanthropist Hillary Clinton.
Private sector lender ICICI Bank Managing Director and CEO Chanda Kochhar is ranked 65th and Biocon Founder Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw has secured the 85th spot in the global list.
Cisco Systems Chief Technology and Strategy Officer India-born Padmasree Warrior is ranked 57th.
According to Forbes, this year’s list represents influential women in politics, business, media, entertainment, technology and non-profits — ranking them by money, media presence and impact.
The list features nine heads of state who run nations with a combined GDP of $ 11.8 trillion — including the Merkel, while 24 corporate CEOs on the list lead firms with $ 893 billion in revenues.
Germany’s Merkel has made it to the list eight times in the past ten years and has been ranked first seven times.
From the entertainment and media segment, Oprah Winfrey bagged 13th spot, pop singer Beyonce at 17th place and actors Angelina Jolie and Sofia Vergara 37th and 38th respectively.
Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg (6th), Christine IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde (7th), Aung San Suu Kyi (29th) and Queen Elizabeth II (40th) are among others who made it to the list.